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92. Investment Opportuntities in Mekelle, Tigray State, Ethiopia
- Author:
- Bryant Cannon
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Mekelle, a rapidly developing city in northern Ethiopia, is located about 780 km from the capital, Addis Ababa. Established nearly 150 years ago by Emperor Yohannes, the city is nestled in Ethiopia's temperate highlands, in the heart of a region that traces its origins back to the ancient Axum Empire that once controlled Red Sea trade (4th century BC – 10th century AD). The city maintains aproud history of many religions, particularly Orthodox Christianity, dating back to the 4th century AD. Mekelle was largely ignored in the latter half of the 20th century by Ethiopia's ruling feudal and socialist governments, but began to experience an economic and cultural rejuvenation with the election of a democratic government in Ethiopia in the early 1990s.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Ethiopia
93. Final Report: Observing the 2005 Ethiopia Elections
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Carter Center
- Abstract:
- Upon the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, The Carter Center observed the country's May 15, 2005, elections for the national and regional parliaments. The May elections marked an historic event in the country, as Ethiopia witnessed its first genuinely competitive campaign period with multiple parties fielding strong candidates. Unfortunately, what began with a comparatively open period of campaigning and an orderly voting process on election day was followed by flawed counting and tabulation processes in many areas; repeated incidents of serious postelection violence, including the killing of many dozens of people during electoral protests; a significant delay in finalizing election results; and an ineffective complaints review and investigation processes. In spite of the positive pre-election developments, therefore, The Carter Center concludes that the 2005 electoral process did not fulfill Ethiopia's obligations to ensure the exercise of political rights and freedoms necessary for genuinely democratic elections.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Democratization, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Ethiopia
94. Intellectualism amid Ethnocentrism: Mukthar and the 4.5 Factor
- Author:
- Mohamed A. Eno and Omar A. Eno
- Publication Date:
- 06-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
- Institution:
- Macalester College
- Abstract:
- The prolonged, two-year reconciliation conference held in Kenya and the resulting interim administration, implemented under the dominant tutelage of Ethiopia, are generally considered to have failed to live up to the expectations of the Somali people. The state structure was built on the foundation of a clan power segregation system known as 4.5 (four-point-five). This means the separation of the Somali people into four clans that are equal and, as such, pure Somali, against an amalgamation of various clans and communities that are unequal to the first group and, hence, considered “impure” or less Somali. The lumping together of all the latter communities is regarded as equivalent only to a half of the share of a clan.
- Political Geography:
- Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia
95. Editor's Note
- Author:
- Ahmed Samatar
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
- Institution:
- Macalester College
- Abstract:
- We begin this 2008 volume with a number of announcements. First, we apologize to our readers for not delivering on our 2006 promise that this regular issue would include an interview with President Ismail Omer Gaileh of the Republic of Djibouti. We conducted the interview in the fall of 2005 but, by late 2007, events in the region (particularly Somalia and Ethiopia) had changed so dramatically that both the questions and the responses needed major updating. Consequently, we have decided to keep the extant interview in storage until we secure another opportunity, in the near future, to engage President Gaileh.
- Political Geography:
- Ethiopia and Somalia
96. Beyond the Fragile Peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea: Averting New War
- Publication Date:
- 06-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- The Ethiopia-Eritrea impasse carries serious risk of a new war and is a major source of instability in the Horn of Africa, most critically for Somalia. Following Ethiopia's refusal to accept virtual demarcation of the border by the now disbanded Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission (EEBC), Asmara unilaterally implemented it and forced out the UN peacekeepers (UNMEE), significantly raising the stakes and shattering the status quo. Its insistence on recovering territory the Commission awarded it – Badme in particular – could lead to unilateral military action by either side but is only one of several war scenarios. The Security Council and key individual states (the U.S., in particular) must recognise the dangers of their inaction and advance a reconfigured political process with new determination if there is to be a change in the calculations of the parties, who appear to be dangerously content with trying to maintain a level of simmering but unpredictable hostility.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Security, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Ethiopia
97. Eastern Africa: Security and the Legacy of Fragility
- Author:
- Gilbert M. Khadiagala
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- “Eastern Africa” denotes the geographical area comprising the seven member states of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD): Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda. Tanzania is also included because it has had long historical and political interactions with Kenya and Uganda within the rubric of the East African Cooperation (EAC). The main challenges to human security in this region have originated from political and state fragility, resource scarcities, and environmental degradation. All these factors have contributed to a regional context that is characterized by intrastate conflicts, interstate wars, and political extremism. Raging civil wars and interstate conflicts have, in turn, produced forms of statelessness and marginality that have deepened societal insecurities and strained human livelihoods. Consequently, in addition to profound political instability and economic destitution, human security is arrayed against escalating communal violence, small arms proliferation, and massive movements of people within and beyond the region.
- Topic:
- Development, Environment, and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- Uganda, Kenya, Africa, Sudan, Ethiopia, and East Africa
98. Somalia: To Move Beyond the Failed State
- Publication Date:
- 12-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Since 1991 Somalia has been the archetypal failed state. Several attempts to create a transitional set-up have failed, and the current one is on the brink of col-lapse, overtaken yet again by an Islamist insurgency, despite the support of an Ethiopian military intervention since December 2006. Over the last two years the situation has deteriorated into one of the world's worst humanitarian and security crises. The international community is preoccupied with a symptom – the piracy phenomenon – instead of concentrating on the core of the crisis, the need for a political settlement. The announced Ethiopian withdrawal, if it occurs, will open up a new period of uncertainty and risk. It could also provide a window of opportunity to relaunch a credible political process, however, if additional parties can be persuaded to join the Djibouti reconciliation talks, and local and international actors – including the U.S. and Ethiopia – accept that room must be found for much of the Islamist insurgency in that process and ultimately in a new government dispensation.
- Topic:
- Government, Islam, Post Colonialism, and Sovereignty
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United States, Ethiopia, and Somalia
99. Mission Not Yet Accomplished: Managing Water Resources in the Nile River Basin
- Author:
- Ashok Swain
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
- Abstract:
- River runoff is widely accepted as one of the most important sources of avaiable fresh water for human consumption. Worldwide, there are 263 major river systems that cross national boundaries and are responsible for 85 percent of the earth's runoff. When two or more countries are dependent on the same river system, upstream withdrawal, pollution or management can lead not only to upstream-downstream conflict but also to cooperation. In recent years, policymaking and research communities have been engaged in exploring various means to transform conflict into riparian cooperation in these international river basins. The following analysis explores this notion through a closer look at the Nile River, which has long been considered the longest international river in the world. Many analysts have considered that the Nile River has a high potential to induce interstate conflict. At least for the greater part of the 20th century, the Nile River has been the source of political tension among three of its major riparian countries—Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. In the face of potential armed conflict and regional instability, the Nile basin countries, in cooperation with the international community, have recently begun working for basin-wide cooperative solutions. The main aim of this paper is to suggest policy measures that riparian countries, as well as the international community, might be in a position to adopt, which could further reduce tension over scarce water resources and facilitating effective and lasting cooperation in the Nile basin. It is crucial not only for the region, but also for global peace and development, to achieve success in bringing the countries together in the basin for efficient benefit sharing of resources of this important river.
- Topic:
- Population
- Political Geography:
- Central Asia, Ethiopia, and Egypt
100. International Election Observers in Africa: The Case of Ethiopia
- Author:
- Wondwosen Teshome B.
- Publication Date:
- 04-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
- Institution:
- Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
- Abstract:
- The question of inviting international election observers to monitor an election is one of the most controversial issues in Africa. Most of the time, the presence of international election monitors in emerging democracies is important to measure whether or not an election is conducted in a free and fair manner. But, sometimes it is regarded as the violation of a nation's sovereignty.
- Topic:
- Democratization and International Organization
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Ethiopia