During the era of the EPRDF in Ethiopia (1991-2019) social protection developed in specific ways, in design and implementation. This article reflects on this period to explore how these manifestations occurred, within the context of broader state building efforts. While rapidly increasing in type and coverage, social protection benefited some and excluded others, consistently across different social protection interventions. The expansion of social protection served different purposes, with scaling services supporting political settlement and while implementation entrenched local power structures. We reflect on why these expressions took place by critically analyzing the problematization narratives in policies and strategies as well as implementation (funding, design and experience). We evaluate social protection during this era in three periods: responsive (1991-2004), donor-driven (2005-2013) and re-orientation (2014-2019). The re-visiting of the history, practice and research of social protection enables us to explore how little the expansion of social protection has altered the expected role of the government and the rights of citizens, and instead how these initiatives acted as a tool that entrenched political power and disenfranchised any form of dissent or difference.