Joanna Lumley OBE talks with Mulugeta Asrate Kassa Ethiopian embassy official

Egypt’s strategy of regional isolation, whilst strategically sound, may actually deepen this dynamic by reinforcing Abiy’s siege mentality and conviction that compromise represents surrender. The encirclement with Somalia and Eritrea creates multiple pressure points but also eliminates potential diplomatic off-ramps by making any Ethiopian concession appear as capitulation to coordinated external coercion.

By Ethiopian Tribune Columnist In the cold heart of a London winter, two families, bound…

By Sewasew Teklemariam At Addis Ababa University’s 75th anniversary celebration, a remarkable exchange unfolded, one…

Ethiopia, the new year does not feel like a beginning. It feels like a continuation a long, unbroken thread of crisis, mismanagement, external meddling, and narrative manipulation. The fireworks have barely faded, yet the country already finds itself back on the docket of global concern, its name invoked not with solidarity but with suspicion.

Yet The Economist’s reporting and critical academic analysis converge on a troubling reality: the project’s commercial soundness collides violently with Ethiopia’s political fragility. The fundamental counter-argument is stark: large-scale infrastructure cannot manufacture stability it requires stability to succeed. As Ethiopian scholars bluntly observe, “growth without peace is a mirage.” Ethiopia’s recent history validates this warning. The two-year Tigray war, alongside persistent conflicts in Amhara, Oromia, and elsewhere, has devastated infrastructure, displaced millions, and eroded the investor confidence that megaprojects depend upon. Data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project recorded 1,105 political violence events in Ethiopia during 2023 alone, resulting in more than 5,428 reported fatalities.