The extensive literature on post-independence African development highlights the challenges and opportunities for African agency in international politics. In essence, agency is the ability to influence or exert power on other parties or coalitions. Between the 1950s and 1990s, African states glimmered in global news as victims of corruption, civil wars, frequent regime changes, brutal […]
Tag: East Africa
The Country with No Majority: Interethnic Relations in Ethiopia
In a sense, every Ethiopian is a minority in their own country. Ethiopia is roughly 30 percent Oromo, 27 percent Amhara, and 6 percent Tigrayan. While the Oromo are numerically the largest group and the Amhara have historically been culturally dominant, the Tigrayans exercise an outsized influence in both politics and the economy. However, in April 2018, […]
An Eritrean Exodus
Eritrea is emptying out. Over the last decade, hundreds of thousands of Eritrea’s 4.5 million people have fled the country. This is all the more remarkable considering that Eritrea is not at war. Unlike other migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, Eritreans are not fleeing from armed conflict at home, but from their own government. Eritrea is […]
Lies, Dam Lies, and Statistics
Tension is brewing on the Nile. Ethiopia is building a massive dam on the Blue Nile with the swaggering name of “Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.” Once completed, it will be the largest dam in Africa. Egypt and Sudan are the two downstream countries that could be the most affected by the dam, and they couldn’t […]
The Ghost of Zheng He: China’s Naval Base in Djibouti
Six hundred years after the Ming Dynasty explorer Zheng He landed in Mombasa and brought back a giraffe, China’s trade presence in East Africa is very much alive. In recent years, China has been expanding a web of infrastructure projects across the African continent. Now, China is in the process of constructing a naval base […]
The Third Time’s Not the Charm: Corruption in Somalia’s Election
On February 8th, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed was elected President of Somalia, defeating the incumbent Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. This was the culmination of the third election cycle since 2009. In 1991, the central government fell to armed opposition groups. Since then, elections have been held in 2009, 2012, and 2017, although the 2009 election had to […]