Semhal Meles
@semmz.bsky.social
Isu, honey, I said no.
I’m glad the “they didn’t implement neoliberal reforms wholeheartedly” thing is being discarded by younger scholars cause…
My new essay in Current History reflects on transitional crises in Ethiopia and Sudan. It treats these cases as part of the same story- not just because their transitions played out at roughly same time, but because they were burdened by similar problems and proved to be interdependent in key ways.
May 30, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Isu, honey, I said no.
I’m glad the “they didn’t implement neoliberal reforms wholeheartedly” thing is being discarded by younger scholars cause…
My new essay in Current History reflects on transitional crises in Ethiopia and Sudan. It treats these cases as part of the same story- not just because their transitions played out at roughly same time, but because they were burdened by similar problems and proved to be interdependent in key ways.
The Tragedy of Transition in Ethiopia and Sudan
The collapse of the 2018–19 political transitions in Ethiopia and Sudan was one of the great African tragedies of the past decade. Three main factors caused these promising democratic openings to devo...
online.ucpress.edu
May 27, 2025 at 5:10 AM
I’m glad the “they didn’t implement neoliberal reforms wholeheartedly” thing is being discarded by younger scholars cause…
On the topic of hegemony, this is non essential reading on a book that is essential perhaps only as kindling.
Chuffed to see that the brilliant @kopalo.bsky.social
has reviewed my book, "The Abiy Project", in this latest issue of @foreignaffairs.com. He calls it "essential reading": www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/abiy...
has reviewed my book, "The Abiy Project", in this latest issue of @foreignaffairs.com. He calls it "essential reading": www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/abiy...
The Abiy Project: God, Power, and War in the New Ethiopia
Gardner’s account of the rise of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is essential reading for those interested in understanding how individual ambition and structural factors combine to mold a leader’...
www.foreignaffairs.com
April 27, 2025 at 4:24 PM
On the topic of hegemony, this is non essential reading on a book that is essential perhaps only as kindling.
This is a guy, who, with his full chest, referred to a war partly catalyzed by the dissolution of a “revolutionary democratic front” and its reconstitution as the “prosperity party” as “anti-imperialist”. Let’s talk about hegemony.
I carry Gramsci wherever I go, trying to think like the communist leader about praxis in a time of peril, feeling the stones to cross the river. Today is his death day. We lift his example against fascism and for communism to thrive skies. Viva Gramsci!
April 27, 2025 at 4:17 PM
This is a guy, who, with his full chest, referred to a war partly catalyzed by the dissolution of a “revolutionary democratic front” and its reconstitution as the “prosperity party” as “anti-imperialist”. Let’s talk about hegemony.
Alex Dewaal sells proximity to African power packaged in public school syntax as scholarship. He’s done well for himself being dull.
April 18, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Alex Dewaal sells proximity to African power packaged in public school syntax as scholarship. He’s done well for himself being dull.
What is being described as a TPLF “win” is the installment of a guy it doesn’t like, has no institutional links with, and is in charge of the guns they used to oust the previous guy. So, yeah. Triumphalism is in order.
The Battle for Tigray - Ethiopia Insight
Why TPLF’s reckless gamble may actually pay off
www.ethiopia-insight.com
April 10, 2025 at 3:49 PM
What is being described as a TPLF “win” is the installment of a guy it doesn’t like, has no institutional links with, and is in charge of the guns they used to oust the previous guy. So, yeah. Triumphalism is in order.
Having a hard time making sense of it all without you, miss you cici
youtu.be/V3VOdFqls7E?...
youtu.be/V3VOdFqls7E?...
A Jewel in the Ear: the 2020-22 Ethiopian Civil War and Black Political Thought; EOA, 06 April 2023
YouTube video by MSU African Studies Center
youtu.be
April 7, 2025 at 3:39 AM
Having a hard time making sense of it all without you, miss you cici
youtu.be/V3VOdFqls7E?...
youtu.be/V3VOdFqls7E?...
Subject: submitting to your will
We nominate our lord and savior Jesus Christ, peace be upon his name.
Regards,
p.s please don’t rape, loot, starve and kill us.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
We nominate our lord and savior Jesus Christ, peace be upon his name.
Regards,
p.s please don’t rape, loot, starve and kill us.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
March 27, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Subject: submitting to your will
We nominate our lord and savior Jesus Christ, peace be upon his name.
Regards,
p.s please don’t rape, loot, starve and kill us.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
We nominate our lord and savior Jesus Christ, peace be upon his name.
Regards,
p.s please don’t rape, loot, starve and kill us.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
“In a novel approach, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed asked Tigrayans to suggest who the region's new leader should be via email...Tigray now has a chance to select its own leaders”
Be for real
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Be for real
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Getachew Reda: Ethiopia's Abiy Ahmed to replace Tigray president amid fears of war
Ethiopia's prime minister asks Tigrayans to email him with suggestions for a new leader.
www.bbc.com
March 27, 2025 at 12:40 PM
“In a novel approach, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed asked Tigrayans to suggest who the region's new leader should be via email...Tigray now has a chance to select its own leaders”
Be for real
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Be for real
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Articles that aged like they have zero melanin:
foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/05/a...
And my personal fav
www.bbc.com/news/world-a...
foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/05/a...
And my personal fav
www.bbc.com/news/world-a...
Abiy Ahmed Is Not a Populist
The Ethiopian prime minister’s opponents fear that he’s an African Erdogan. His rhetoric and policies suggest he’s more of a liberal democrat.
foreignpolicy.com
March 22, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Articles that aged like they have zero melanin:
foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/05/a...
And my personal fav
www.bbc.com/news/world-a...
foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/05/a...
And my personal fav
www.bbc.com/news/world-a...
“put a halt to illegal gold mining” have they put a halt to it in Shakiso ? What moral higher ground are we imagining for the federal government? They’re already directly involved in illegal mining in Tigray, like they were the biggest players in theft of aid
Ethiopia’s ambition to secure Red Sea access, Eritrea’s interference in Ethiopia’s internal affairs and a power struggle in Tigray could explode into a regional war.
Tensions in Tigray could spark war between Ethiopia and Eritrea – disaster must be avoided
Ethiopia’s ambition to secure Red Sea access, Eritrea’s interference in Ethiopia’s internal affairs and a power struggle in Tigray could explode into a wider regional war. Mediation is urgently needed...
www.chathamhouse.org
March 21, 2025 at 5:03 AM
“put a halt to illegal gold mining” have they put a halt to it in Shakiso ? What moral higher ground are we imagining for the federal government? They’re already directly involved in illegal mining in Tigray, like they were the biggest players in theft of aid
What does complacency mean again ?
My newsletter this week is about the risks of war between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and reasons to take them seriously:
view.e.economist.com?qs=a43554bbc...
view.e.economist.com?qs=a43554bbc...
March 19, 2025 at 2:23 AM
What does complacency mean again ?
“a reformed Tigray co-exists within Ethiopia with a reformed Eritrea on its frontiers. This, surely, is the strategic option that all in Tigray, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the wider region and the international community would welcome.“
Tsadkan thinks everyone but Abiy Ahmed needs to “reform”
Tsadkan thinks everyone but Abiy Ahmed needs to “reform”
„While the option for peace may be narrowing, leaving war as the only option; all final avenues to avoid conflicts must be perused urgently.“
www.theafricareport.com/378644/tigra...
www.theafricareport.com/378644/tigra...
Tigray cannot be the battleground for Ethiopia and Eritrea - The Africa Report.com
As tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea escalate, the region of Tigray stands at the heart of a looming conflict, writes one of the leaders of the armed struggle in Tigray against the Derg.
www.theafricareport.com
March 11, 2025 at 11:16 AM
“a reformed Tigray co-exists within Ethiopia with a reformed Eritrea on its frontiers. This, surely, is the strategic option that all in Tigray, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the wider region and the international community would welcome.“
Tsadkan thinks everyone but Abiy Ahmed needs to “reform”
Tsadkan thinks everyone but Abiy Ahmed needs to “reform”
Shouldn’t there be something about an acquisition of a port/s and postponed elections weaved into this story somewhere ?
www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...
www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...
To avoid another conflict in the Horn of Africa, now is the time to act
Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki is working to reignite conflict in northern Ethiopia. He must be stopped.
www.aljazeera.com
February 17, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Shouldn’t there be something about an acquisition of a port/s and postponed elections weaved into this story somewhere ?
www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...
www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...
