For decades, the relationship between Ethiopians in the U.S. and the government back home has been characterised by mutual antagonism. But Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s visit this month is eagerly anticipated by a community energized by his leadership. By Arefaynie…
(Editors’ note: This article is published as a response to Alemayehu Weldemariam’s Ethiopia Observer commentary headlined Ethiopia’s Charismatic Leader: Riding the Wave of Populism or Reforming Ethnic Federalism? The original version of this response was published on the author’s Facebook…
Reforming Government pursing privatizations and trade liberalization Ethiopia lacks institutional capacity to manage overlapping commitments Weak financial and manufacturing industries may suffer from competition If you follow international trade, you may be feeling both excited and anxious. Excited because Africa…
Preaching unity is one thing, but the Prime Minister’s methods risk undermining the political system that ties Ethiopia’s federation together. Abiy Ahmed must capitalize on his brilliant and bold beginning with careful, inclusive reforms. “But even regarding History as the…
June 23, 2018 is not a day that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed will easily forget. That morning he spoke at a rally where a huge Meskal Square crowd gathered to enthusiastically support his reforms and message of tolerance. The joyous…
Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki announced he intends to send a high-level delegation for talks in Addis Ababa with Ethiopia’s government about fully implementing a peace agreement signed in 2000 after a two-year war. Ethiopia’s ruling coalition said on June 5…
Although the peace offering to Eritrea was a collective decision, there are indications of incoherence within Ethiopia’s ruling coalition. Notably, a crucial player, the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front, does not seem to be fully on board. Following the surprise announcement…
It has been somewhat of a struggle so far for Ethiopians trying to draw a completely consistent line from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s approach. That is because despite a clutch of positive moves, the pardoning of people involved in high-profile…
PM has not offered many ideas to tackle economic woes Abiy’s comments suggest maintaining statist status quo Structural issues need tackling to prevent more problems Headlines about Ethiopia indicate a radical change of mood. While in the past three years…
Many theories but little evidence of why employees were shot dead Attack follows labour dispute and three years of protests in Oromia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has to satisfy elites and demonstrators Last week’s daytime shooting of Dangote Cement’s Indian…