Tag: Ethiopia
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PM Abiy, Teddy Afro, and the Politics of Art
For the past few days, Teddy Afro’s new album has drawn wide attention. A friend told me its lyrics have irritated Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and sent me a clip of Abiy lecturing parliament about the difference between artists and activists. That pairing—music and political instruction—raises a deeper question: can art ever be separated
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Iska Warran, Somalis; Tread Carefully!
Drawing from Eritrea’s historical experience, the essay analyzes Somalia’s collapse, Somaliland’s resilience, Ethiopia’s controversial push for sea access, and the broader militarization of the Horn of Africa. It warns against foreign interference, empty nationalism, and elite-driven politics, advocating instead for people-centered dialogue and pragmatic, incremental solutions.
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Somaliland, Somalia, and the Ethics of Non‑Alignment
Recognition, Reality, and Responsibility in the Horn of Africa The recognition of Somaliland would mark a historic moment—akin to Eritrea or South Sudan—not a geopolitical earthquake, but a shift whose ripple effects could extend far beyond its borders. Global politics has a way of humbling our certainties: the developments we dismiss as peripheral often become
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Power, Image, and Machiavellian Survival (7)
Giants and Lilliputians of the HOA: Power, Image, and Machiavellian Survival Part Seven Introduction The central argument of this essay is simple: the Horn of Africa’s instability has never been caused by its diversity, but by leaders who repeatedly manipulate that diversity for political survival. Across Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, and Djibouti, rulers have taken
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Beware, he has 139 million loyalists!
Dear Eritreans, this is a warning—you are expected to shudder with fear. The Ethiopians are 139 million people; they can easily swallow you! If they come for your cattle, your women, or your men, let them take it all. If they want your seashores, spread a red carpet—or roll the sea itself for them to
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A Reckoning with Rhetoric: Responding to FM Gedion Timothewos on Ethiopia–Eritrea Relations
Introduction Dr. Gedion Timothewos, Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister, delivered a carefully curated address at AAU Ras Mekonnen Hall on November 13th, 2025, outlining Ethiopia’s policy toward the Horn of Africa, or more specifically, towards Eritrea. His tone was measured, his language diplomatic, and his framing deliberate crafted to cast Ethiopia as a stabilizing force amid regional
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Giants and Lilliputians: Power, Image, and Machiavellian Survival (Part V)
Giants and Lilliputians: Power, Image, and Machiavellian Survival Beyond Emperor Haile Selassie and President Isaias AfwerkiThe centralizing dogma of empire, religion and revolutions Eritrea and Ethiopia are lands where mosque and monastery, Qur’an and Psalter, have long breathed the same air. At their deepest currents, the histories of these nations are not tales of division,
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Giants and Lilliputians: Haile Selassie and President Isaias Afwerki (Part 2)
Power, Image, and Machiavellian Survival: The Body as a Mirror of Power To understand Isaias Afwerki’s psychology, one must first confront the contradiction written across his body. His appearance—spare, stiff, and strangely careless—betrayed none of the humility expected of a revolutionary. Nor did it reflect the ethos of the Tegadelti, whose plainness was once a
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Power, Image, and Machiavellian Survival: Emperor Haile Selassie and President Isaias Afwerki
Two Towering Figures–Giants and Lilliputians (Part 1) Across the sorrowful and entangled histories of Ethiopia and Eritrea, two figures loom with spectral intensity: Emperor Haile Selassie I and President Isaias Afwerki. Their shadows stretch across generations, ideologies, and geopolitical fault lines—each a master of power, each a paradox incarnate. At the outset of their reigns,
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Blame It on Moses
A young student and her classmate graduated together; she became a geography teacher, while her bright classmate was quickly absorbed into Abiy Ahmed’s party and appointed PR director of the Ethiopian Air Force. Today, he is hailed as an inspirational figure in that institution. By all accounts, he is doing a marvelous job. Recently, however,
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Downfall of an Emperor: Haile Selassie of Ethiopia
Book Review By Semere T Habtemariam Downfall of an Emperor: Haile Selassie of Ethiopia and the Derg’s Creeping Coup By Michael Ghebrenegus Haile (Shambel) Published by AWP | 2024 | 353 pages | Paperback | ISBN: 978-1569024966 First Impressions On a quiet Friday night, I reached for a book that had been waiting on my
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Horn of Africa: A Unity Deferred: Between Memory and Possibility
The Horn of Africa remains one of the world’s most fragile political landscapes. State legitimacy is contested, nation-building is stalled or unraveling, and war routinely eclipses peace. Ethiopia and Sudan, its two largest states, are engulfed in civil war and political upheaval. Somalia continues to fracture, with little more than nominal central authority. Eritrea and
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A Critique of Bereket Habtemariam’s Proposal on Sea Access and Sovereignty
Author’s Note: This essay is written in response to a document recently shared by Bereket Habtemariam on his Facebook (also known as Biko Steph). His contribution to the debate over Ethiopia’s access to the Red Sea is imaginative and provocative. Importantly, Bereket has been open that his intention is not to prescribe a final solution,
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Ethiopia’s Double Standard: Talking Peace on the Nile, Hinting Force on the Red Sea
Assab is not just a port—it’s where Eritrea’s national story began. Calls for Eritrea to cede it ignore history, sovereignty, and the hard-won price of independence. Ethiopia champions international law on the Nile but risks undermining its credibility with threats over the Red Sea. True leadership requires consistency. Eritrea’s sovereignty over Assab is non-negotiable. Ethiopia…
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Ethiopia: The Graveyard of Eritrean Opposition Movements
Abstract: This article examines the structural, historical, and geopolitical constraints that have undermined the Eritrean opposition’s ability to bring about meaningful political change. It argues that the reliance on host states such as Ethiopia and Sudan has delegitimized opposition movements in the eyes of the Eritrean people. The article proposes a shift away from failed
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The Red Sea: Between Occupiers and Owners
To Eritreans, the Red Sea is all of the above; to invaders, it is just a port, a swinging door. They come and leave from the same door.
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The UAE and the Horn of Africa – A Swirl of Interests and Alliances
Last time I said I would cover the UAE… Here it is. Now, this isn’t a comprehensive history. It’s a sketch—basic pointers you can expand on. But it’s important to know where you stand and what circles surround you. People are born into families that grow into clans, tribes, regions, and nations. Let’s focus on
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Gaza Asab: A Peace to Start More Wars
“Ports are traditionally built to host ships that encourage trade. But Abiy envisions a port to launch his navy and battleships. Abiy Ahmed’s maneuvers in the Horn mirror the tragic ambitions of old empires… poised to repeat history.”
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The Literary Works of Bereket Habte Selassie (LL.B., Ph.D.)
A Portrait of a Political Thinker and Freedom Fighter Ladies and gentlemen, It is a great honor to speak to you today about one of the most remarkable thinkers, writers, and freedom fighters to emerge from the Horn of Africa—Dr. Bereket Habte Selassie. A legal scholar by training, a political reformer by necessity, a revolutionary
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Hail Ethiopia, Hail Peace!
“Abiy’s provocative declaration has now become a rallying cry for some Ethiopian extremists.” “No claimed ancient bloodline can legitimize ownership—leaving aside political decisions.” “You shall not covet the Eritrean Red Sea.”