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21. Ethiopia: Economic Development in a Harsh Environment: Part 1

Author:
Paul Rivlin
Publication Date:
05-2019
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
Abstract:
Paul Rivlin analyzes the ongoing economic challenges faced by Ethiopia. A visit to Ethiopia provides food for thought for an economist who devotes much of his time to the Middle East. During the last twenty years, despite many problems and a very difficult historical legacy, Ethiopia has experienced rapid economic growth. It remains a very poor, landlocked country with few natural resources and faces serious internal political problems but is experiencing something rare: relatively good governance. This has made the difference that is currently boosting growth and reducing poverty levels. This edition examines the political and economic development of Ethiopia in recent decades. The June edition will analyze the relevance of its experience for other countries.
Topic:
History, Economy, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, and Ethiopia

22. Ethiopia: Economic Development in a Harsh Environment: Part 2

Author:
Paul Rivlin
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
Abstract:
The second part of this review of Ethiopia’s economic development examines the strengths and weaknesses of the policies followed and the institutions established in recent years and compares them with the development policies adopted in East Asia.
Topic:
History, Reform, Economy, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Africa and Ethiopia

23. Keeping Ethiopia’s Transition on the Rails

Author:
International Crisis Group
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Ethiopia’s political opening under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has won well-deserved accolades but also uncorked dangerous centrifugal forces, among them ethnic strife. With international partners’ diplomatic and financial support, the government should proceed more cautiously – and consultatively – with reforms that could exacerbate tensions. What’s new? Clashes in October 2019 in Oromia, Ethiopia’s most populous region, left scores of people dead. They mark the latest explosion of ethnic strife that has killed hundreds and displaced millions across the country over the past year and half. Why did it happen? Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has taken important steps to move the country toward more open politics. But his efforts to dismantle the old order have weakened the Ethiopian state and given new energy to ethno-nationalism. Hostility among the leaders of Ethiopia’s most powerful regions has soared. Why does it matter? Such tensions could derail Ethiopia’s transition. Meanwhile, reforms Abiy is making to the country’s powerful but factious ruling coalition anger opponents, who believe that they aim to undo Ethiopia’s ethnic federalist system, and could push the political temperature still higher. Elections in May 2020 could be divisive and violent. What should be done? Abiy should step up efforts to mend divisions within and among Ethiopia’s regions and push all parties to avoid stoking tensions around the elections. International partners should press Ethiopian leaders to curb incendiary rhetoric and offer increased aid to protect the country from economic shocks that could aggravate political problems.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Diplomacy, Ethnic Conflict, and Transition
Political Geography:
Africa and Ethiopia

24. Famine Early Warning and Information Systems in Conflict Settings: Challenges for Humanitarian Metrics and Response

Author:
Daniel Maxwell
Publication Date:
11-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Feinstein International Center, Tufts University
Abstract:
Attention to the growing number of people caught in crises characterized by extreme and often protracted levels of food insecurity, malnutrition, and mortality is increasing. The information systems that track these conditions and inform humanitarian decision-making have expanded substantially in the past two decades and in many cases have reached a degree of unprecedented sophistication. These famine early warning systems have become increasingly sophisticated in the past decade, but they still tend to be based on several assumptions that are important to understand. This paper briefly describes existing famine early warning systems and outlines some of the assumptions on which they are based— both in theory and in practice. Then it gives four brief case studies of recent famine or “famine-like” events and pieces together the formal analysis process with an attempt to reconstruct events on the ground from a conflict analysis perspective—highlighting the extent to which the formal famine analysis did or did not deal with conflict analyses and the political kryptonite around the discussion of “intent.” It closes with a summary of gaps in the current system and an assessment of the risks of trying to address those gaps through famine EWS or alternative means.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Humanitarian Aid, Food, Famine, Food Security, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Kenya, Middle East, Yemen, North Africa, and Ethiopia

25. An Analysis of Four Case Studies of Youth Migration

Author:
Elizabeth Stites, Anastasia Marshak, Niharika Betkerur, Sarah Carson, Mackenzie Seaman, and Erica Shaps
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Feinstein International Center, Tufts University
Abstract:
This paper synthesizes findings from four studies on youth migration and resilience in different urban contexts. This work emerges from a collaboration between Save the Children US (Save US) and Feinstein International Center, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. The study entailed mixed-methods research by four students in the second year of their Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (MALD) degrees at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Save US sought out the opportunity to generate evidence on populations of interest through in-depth and independent student research. In particular, Save US was interested in better understanding the experiences of youth migrants who were not currently benefiting from the programming and services of aid organizations. This interest originated from the assumption that such youth may be more marginalized than those who are directly participating in programming.
Topic:
Security, Humanitarian Aid, Migration, Urbanization, Children, and Refugees
Political Geography:
Uganda, India, Ethiopia, and Austria

26. Examining Alternative Livelihoods for Improved Resilience and Transformation in Afar

Author:
Daniel Temesga, Amdissa Teshome, and Berhanu Admassu
Publication Date:
05-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Feinstein International Center, Tufts University
Abstract:
Traditional pastoral livelihoods have continued sustainably for generations using flexible adaptive responses to the climatic variability in Ethiopia’s Afar region. Recently, however, multifaceted driving forces such as demographic and policy changes, more extreme climate events, market changes have affected the capacity of the pastoral system to adapt. The study established that the traditional pastoral system has evolved into three major livelihood pathways, depending on the wealth status of the household: (1) pastoralism with commercialization of livestock; (2) livestock keeping along with income diversification; and (3) non-livestock alternative livelihoods. The report reviews the different types of alternative livelihoods in the region and makes recommendations for interventions.
Topic:
Climate Change, Gender Issues, Children, and Youth
Political Geography:
Africa and Ethiopia

27. Beyond Borders and Leaders: Toward Sustainable Peace for Ethiopia and Eritrea

Author:
Mehari Taddele Maru
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Al Jazeera Center for Studies
Abstract:
The lesson here is that Ethiopia and Eritrea should not envisage sustainable peace to be brokered by external actors. Rather the solution should come from a genuine effort from both sides
Topic:
International Relations
Political Geography:
Ethiopia

28. Outmigration from the Horn of Africa

Author:
Berhane Keleta
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Ìrìnkèrindò: a Journal of African Migration
Abstract:
The proliferation of sovereign states in the Horn of Africa has produced intra- and inter-state conflicts that have largely been induced by ethnic tensions. The conflicts resulted in the loss of millions of human lives, significant material damage, and forced people to leave their countries of origin to seek their fortune elsewhere, using a network of systems established between country of origin and destination. Some have been driven into desperation and they sought the services of human smugglers and traffickers. Geographical proximity to migration hotspots also encourages migration. This study explores immigration in the Horn of Africa countries from geographical, socio-political, and economic perspectives. The findings show mixed migration from the Horn of Africa of refugees, asylum seekers, smuggled, and trafficked persons. The last two categories are the largest number of undocumented migrants in the sub-region. They are relatively young, being primarily aged fourteen to forty. They are predominantly male, and have low educational attainment. One motivation for migration is to seek opportunities elsewhere that would facilitate ability to make remittances.
Topic:
Migration and Immigration
Political Geography:
Africa, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, and Horn of Africa

29. Emerging Political Reforms and the Future of Ethiopian Federalism: Policy Options for Stability, Peace, and Development

Author:
Asnake Kefale
Publication Date:
03-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Social Science Research Council
Abstract:
This policy brief explores the prospects of deploying federalism as an instrument of peacebuilding in the context of emerging political reforms in Ethiopia. The ap- pointment of Abiy Ahmed as prime minister in April 2018 by the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) marks a watershed moment in Ethiopia’s political history. The agenda of political reform adopted by EPRDF was largely due to two interrelated factors. First, the need to overcome the ap- parent fissures and constant power struggles within the party, especially since the death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in 2012. Second, as a response to the youth-led mass anti-government protests which started in 2015, primarily in the two most populous regions of the country, Oromia and Amhara. While the ongoing reforms are generating some optimism, there are also wor- risome developments in parts of the country. More than 1.4 million people have been displaced from their homes. The causes of their displacement are inter- ethnic tensions and identity-based communal conflicts over issues such as the ownership of natural resources linked to people’s livelihoods and the location of territorial borders. Those hit hardest by internal displacement are communities living in Gedeo and West Guji in southern Ethiopia and in the border areas of the Oromia and Somali regions. There are also tensions between the Amhara and Tigray regions over the identity of Wolqait and Raya communities. Similarly, the Sidama ethnic group’s demand for regional status in southern Ethiopia has cre- ated tension in the area. Moreover, there are reports of a breakdown of law and order in parts of the Amhara and Oromia regions. A key issue in Ethiopia’s political reform is the future of federalism, in particu- lar, the strong emphasis placed on ethnicity and whether it will continue to be relevant. On the one hand, there are political forces (centrists) that see ethnic federalism as a root cause of the current crisis, while others contend that theproblems are due to non-adherence to the principles of true federalism. However, it is important to note that the federal system is crucial to Ethiopia’s stability, peace, and develop- ment. With the opening of political space, the future direc- tion of Ethiopian federalism is being hotly contested. There are political forces that aspire to remove the ethnic element from the federal system or change the system altogether from ethnic to geographic federalism. Such a course of ac- tion is fraught with danger. The reactions to the removal of the federal status of Eritrea in 1960 and the autonomy of South Sudan in 1983 demonstrate the inadvisability of re- versing regional or ethnic autonomy. In both countries, the rolling back of autonomous arrangements by central au- thorities was a key factor in the long-running conflicts that culminated in the secession of Eritrea and South Sudan, re- spectively. The government of Ethiopia (GoE) should, there- fore, consider the following policy recommendations.
Topic:
Development, Reform, Political stability, Peace, and Federalism
Political Geography:
Africa and Ethiopia

30. The Triple Nexus in Practice: Toward a New Way of Working in Protracted and Repeated Crises

Author:
Leah Zamore
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
Crises In 2016, global policymakers came together to confront a critical policy dilemma: what is, or should be, the role of humanitarian action in a world beset by “permanent emergencies” that do not end, in which the root causes are overwhelmingly structural and political? One major outcome of the summit was the commitment to a “new way of working” based on linking the “triple nexus” of humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding (HDP) efforts. Our new report shares the results of a major independent review of the implementation of this process.
Topic:
United Nations, Fragile States, Crisis Management, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, Lebanon, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia, and Chad