Belachew Mekuria, PhD, For Addis Standard Addis Abeba, October 01/2019 – 2020 elections are nigh and some campaign type of moves are observed in many parts of the country. This is a unique moment of history in Ethiopia’s nascent democracy, elections culture and practices. Not even the highly glorified 2005 election will be a match considering…

Abraham Gelaw   Earlier this year, Haderu Gebray, 15, and her parents were arrested for planning her wedding. Child marriage is illegal in Ethiopia yet her father, who works in government, planned to wed her to an older man she had never met. Her plight hit the media headlines instantly. All it took to create a…

Rashid Abdi, For Addis Standard Two mass protest movements have, in quick succession, forced regime changes in Sudan and Ethiopia, two of the Horn of Africa’s quintessential “hard” states. A deep-seated disillusion with the security and developmental states drives the new “revolutionary” mood. What is less clear is where all the ferment and the popular…

The emperors made us speak one language to bring us together. It failed, but it also succeeded. This is the fifth article in the seven-part series Living In Translation about language and identity. They are guest edited by Nanjala Nyabola and will be published across this week. See all the articles published so far here.  Like most African…

By Dawit Woldegiorgis, Visiting Scholar at Boston University, African Studies Center ‘Absolutely Oversold’***********************As instability and violence spreads across much of Ethiopia, with most recent incidents getting close to the capital in Northern Showa, it is becoming a matter of grave concern to Ethiopians and regional governments, whether there will be a full-fledged civil war in Ethiopia….

By Major Dawit Woldegiorgis PM Ably seems to have taken a calculated decision to play the ethnic card to perhaps appease the radicals within his party. For certain, his ethnic base is fired up and their expectations are high. His colleague Jawar Mohamed, another fiery demagogue who preaches ethnic and religious extremism has been invited…

Kjetil Tronvoll (@KjetilTronvoll), For Addis Standard The Ethiopian government, and its regional states’ authorities, are increasingly facing challenges to enforce order and security control over the territory of the federation. Several areas are allegedly not administratively ‘connected’ to the center, but run by local groupings who have either kicked out or breached with the party…

Mehari Taddele Maru, For Addis Standard –@DrMehari  Addis Abeba, March 05/2019 – This has been an eventful year for Ethiopia’s politics. Under Abiy Ahmed Ali, who became Prime Minister in April 2018, the government has eased its previous authoritarian stance on various central issues. A national state of emergency imposed by Abiy’s predecessor has been lifted…

‘As a son of a Muslim father, a student of conflict studies with a PhD in Peace and Security Studies, and a politician who brokered peace between parties to religious conflicts in his home town, Abiy Ahmed would naturally be expected to has overcome the “siege mentality” of Ethiopian leaders vis-a-vis Arab powers.’ The New…

Federations of ethnonational states can become explosive during moments of political liberalization. Abiy Ahmed must tread carefully to avoid a Balkan nightmare. BY FLORIAN BIEBER, WONDEMAGEGN TADESSE GOSHU within a few shorts months, Ethiopia has witnessed a dramatic transformation. The new prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, signed a peace agreement with Eritrea after years of simmering tensions. He…