@DrMehari Recent diplomatic initiatives in the Horn are a positive step, but the region needs much more to achieve lasting peace. Following his recent efforts to achieve normalisation with Eritrea, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed embarked on a shuttle diplomacy mission across the Horn of Africa. Since the signing of the landmark June 2018 peace agreement between ...

@DrMehari   This in-depth analysis is an extension of my piece for Ethiopia Insight titled ‘The old EPRDF is dead, can its system be saved?’ which you can read here. 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 ...

Africa is endowed with considerable strategic renewable and non-renewable natural resources, of which only a fraction has been exploited for the benefit of the African people. The role of natural resources as major contributors to economic growth and poverty reduction cannot be overstated. However, natural resources can be a curse or a blessing, depending on ...

Africa Portal managed by SAIIA published my latest analysis on #Ethiopia’s revised Refugee Law. Ethiopia’s parliament adopted a revised refugee law on 17 January 2019, which the United Nations (UN) has hailed as one of the most progressive refugee laws on the continent. It replaces the country’s 2004 Refugee Proclamation, and grants the country’s massive ...

This paper examines Ethiopia’s policy on the African Union (AU), and its predecessor—the OAU. By defining what constitutes a grand strategy, as opposed to an ad hoc approach in pursuing national interest in a multilateral setting, the paper attempts to answer seven fundamental questions: (i) Has Ethiopia ever had a grand strategy regarding the OAU/AU, ...

Ethiopia and Eritrea will soon unveil a roadmap to address past disputes and try and lay strong foundations for cooperation. What key issues does it need to confront to tackle the root causes of the conflict? Early last month, Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki opened the Humera-Oumhajer border. It was more progress ...

The Horn of Africa appears to be gearing towards a new order set off by a global competition of strategic interest by great powers in Africa. In addition to internal political upheavals, the competition is precipitated by a struggle for influence in the region by the US and China.  There is also a realignment taking ...

Dr. Mehari Taddele Maru speaks with Aljazeera on the Coup d’état attempt in Gabon. Click here to watch the interview: https://mediaview.aljazeera.com/video/4OJGdMNDa2

During the September 2018 Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), African Union Chairperson and Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, lauded the Chinese aid and investment strategy in Africa as a source of “deep transformation” in Africa.  In Kagame’s view China-Africa cooperation is based on mutual respect between African states and China and is for the benefit of ...

Compiled, edited (and some sections also written) by Dr Mehari Taddele Maru, the Popular Version of the first ever IGAD State of the Region Report (SRR) is now published and accessible online. The Popular Version of the Report is expected to help translate IGAD’s vision into regionally shared hope and action within the Member States, ...