Category: Ethiopia

The hard choice facing Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed

     

Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed faces a hard choice between a shift towards authoritarianism, or the difficult task of generating confidence and belief in his reforms,* according to Nick Cheeseman, professor of… Read more »

A new infrastructure of democracy? Open societies’ resilience is strategic priority

     

Had Ronald Reagan’s Westminster speech merely articulated the case for democracy, it would be remembered as one of many well-written and inspiring presidential addresses. It was, on the contrary, much… Read more »

A new ‘Totalitarian Temptation’? Authoritarians rely on ideas too

     

Sudan’s transition promises to be anything but easy. Economic problems that sparked initial protests in 2018 still await complex solutions, and the state bureaucracy remains weak. How will the military… Read more »

‘Trojan horse for tyranny’: Disinformation boosting digital authoritarianism

     

Digital platforms have emerged as the “new battleground” for democracy, with disinformation the most commonly used tactic to undermine elections, according to a leading watchdog. “Populists and far-right leaders have… Read more »

Explaining the global protest wave

     

Sixty-three people died over the weekend in a crackdown by security forces against ongoing anti-government protests [HT: CFR], according to the semi-official Iraq High Commission for Human Rights. Iraq is… Read more »

Ethiopia’s Abyssinian spring enters a critical phase

     

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office amid profound strife, and he won the Nobel Peace Prize just seven months before the country’s elections. The timing isn’t necessarily good. The… Read more »

Will Ethiopia’s liberalization lead to democratization?

     

Rising ethnic tensions threaten to undermine the prospects of democratization in Ethiopia, say Freedom House analysts Jon Temin and Yoseph Badwaza.  Managing expectations, maintaining stability, and initiating a pluralist order… Read more »

Ethnic infighting threatens Ethiopia’s liberal reforms

     

Brigadier General Asamnew Tsige, accused of planning Saturday’s attacks in northern Amhara State that killed five political figures, was shot dead (Reuters/CFR) yesterday, a spokesperson for Ethiopia’s prime minister said. He… Read more »

‘Blitzkrieg of reforms’: But no magic formula for building Ethiopia’s democracy

     

  The ascension of Abiy Ahmed as Ethiopia’s Prime Minister on April 2, 2018, following the massive popular protests of the previous two years, has produced one of the most… Read more »