#Op_ed: Interregnum and Fragmentation: Explaining persistence of weak state in #Ethiopia
Political theorist Antonio Gramsci described political transitions as an interregnum—“moments when the old order is dying, but a new one has not yet taken its place"—marked by instability and unpredictability. In this op-ed, Dereje Hawas argues that Ethiopia today exemplifies this dynamic, noting, “Weak states persist not because they are strong, but because fragmentation blocks the emergence of an organized alternative.”
Ethiopia’s history shows a clear pattern: “Political transitions are not decided by the intensity of mobilization but by the location of structure at the moment of systemic breakdown.”
He emphasizes, “The persistence of the current political order reflects the structural fragmentation of the political field rather than the state's strength.”
https://addisstandard.com/?p=56316
#Op_ed: From Binary Politics to Creative Compromise: Why #Ethiopia needs political imagination to bypass gridlock
In this op-ed, Donek Zemo highlights the story of the 17 camels from William Ury’s Getting to Yes with Yourself, noting its enduring lesson: “Disputes that seem impossible can often be resolved not by forcing outcomes, but by introducing a creative compromise that allows everyone to move forward.”
She contends that Ethiopia's political discourse remains confined within rigid binaries—unitary state versus ethnic federalism, old regional maps versus newly drawn ones—with political actors entrenched in positional demands rather than pursuing shared interests. This inflexibility, according to the author, skips essential stages of negotiation and compromise, hastening the descent of disputes into violence.
Donek emphasizes the broader implication: “Conflict resolution does not require choosing between old models; it requires designing new ones.”
https://addisstandard.com/?p=54785
#Op_ed: Renewed Conflict, Repeated Failure: Why #Tigray's peace and recovery depends on women's inclusion
As fighting resumes, Tigray faces a perilous crossroads, writes Batseba Seifu on behalf of GEM Tigray. She cautions, "Any humanitarian, security, or political initiative that excludes women's leadership, perspectives, and lived experiences is bound to fail."
Batseba highlights that women have long been first responders, mediators, and caregivers, yet their voices are largely absent from formal decision-making. Gender-disaggregated research shows female-headed households face hunger 24% more than male-headed households, reflecting structural inequalities intensified by conflict. Humanitarian interventions often overlook these realities, leaving the most vulnerable unassisted.
The author emphasizes, “Only by placing women at the heart of response efforts can we hope to protect civilians, restore services, and build a durable, just peace for all.”
https://addisstandard.com/?p=55145
#Op_ed: Rebuilding #Tigray’s Health System: Prioritizing human rights and dignity
In this op-ed for GEM Tigray, Batseba Seifu highlights that five years of genocidal war have devastated Tigray’s health system, erasing decades of progress in maternal care, vaccinations, chronic disease management, and emergency services.
The article explains that before the war, a network of health posts, centers, and hospitals—supported by ambulances—served millions. Today, most facilities are looted, damaged, or non-functional, and ambulance services have largely ceased. The author notes, “Deliberate and widespread attacks on healthcare” have left communities without essential services, causing preventable deaths among pregnant women, children, and patients with chronic illnesses.
The op-ed urges coordinated action to restore services and rebuild infrastructure, emphasizing that “rebuilding health care in Tigray is not charity—it is justice.”
https://addisstandard.com/?p=54849
#Op_ed: Lingering Scourge of War: Unexploded ordnance, landmines continue endangering women and girls in #Tigray
Almost four years after the conclusion of the Tigray war in #Ethiopia, civilians continue to face lethal risks from anti-personnel mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). This op-ed, written on behalf of GEM Tigray, emphasizes that these remnants of conflict have become “a critical and persistent threat to the civilian population, with children, women, and girls bearing a disproportionate share of the suffering.”
The article highlights that mines and UXO are dispersed across homes, schools, farmlands, and public spaces, resulting in fatalities, catastrophic injuries, and long-term disabilities, while severely disrupting livelihoods, food security, and access to education.
It further underscores that “addressing explosive contamination—with a clear gender lens—is not optional; it is essential.”
https://addisstandard.com/?p=54549
#Op_ed: Mirage of Pillar: Why #Djibouti’s ‘rentier’ reality cannot outrun Horn’s maritime pivot
In this rebuttal, Adam Daud Ahmed challenges the portrayal of Djibouti as an unshakeable “pillar of stability,” arguing that current conditions mask a regime prioritizing survival over meaningful reform.
Ahead of the 2026 elections, constitutional maneuvers have cleared the path for a “lifetime presidency,” making the state a high-risk dependency tied to a single leader. With no independent press and widespread censorship, “stability” has become little more than the absence of an audible alternative. High debt and reliance make Djibouti a “leveraged middleman” rather than a reliable partner.
The author concludes that its “Rentier Fortress” prioritizes regime longevity over institutional reform.
https://addisstandard.com/?p=55628
#Op_ed: Rights on Paper, Barriers in Practice: Inside #Ethiopia’s broken housing registration system for persons with disabilities
Ethiopia has strong legal frameworks protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, yet Biruk Eshetu G/Kidan argues that a significant gap persists between policy and implementation. He highlights that, while a five-percent housing quota exists in #Addis_Abeba to correct structural inequalities, bureaucratic hurdles have turned a "straightforward administrative process" into an exhausting ordeal.
Applicants at the City Housing Development Corporation face a "burden of bureaucracy," including missing database entries, no submission receipts, and no dedicated service desks.
Biruk notes that “the challenge is not the absence of rights on paper but the difficulty of accessing them in practice.”
https://addisstandard.com/?p=56137
#Op_ed: Rethinking #Ethiopia’s Infrastructure Priorities: When urban makeovers masquerade as development
The recent urban renewal in #Addis_Abeba and other urban centers is being sold as national progress, but the author of this opinion piece argues the government is merely “conflating urban beautification with productive infrastructure.”
He explains that genuine infrastructure, such as power grids and logistics networks, drives long-term growth, while aesthetic projects are “complementary,” and in a resource-constrained economy, the “opportunity cost matters.” Public debate is suppressed, leaving citizens fearful, so “development risks becoming a bullying tactic rather than a public good.”
The author emphasizes that “development is not the performance of sophistication,” contending instead that true progress requires the “distribution of opportunity—and the consent of the people it affects.”
https://addisstandard.com/?p=55027
#Op_ed: Ghosts of Governance: Opposition paralysis, failure of political imagination in post-war #Tigray
The most dangerous moment for a post-war society is when paralysis becomes normal, “a condition that has gripped Tigray for too long,” writes Getachew Gebrekiros Temare. He argues, “War destroyed infrastructure, displaced millions, and shattered institutions,” yet the deeper crisis remains political.
Factionalism within the #TPLF and fragmentation among opposition parties have left society without coherent leadership. Opposition rhetoric often functions as controlled dissent rather than driving meaningful change. He notes, “The cumulative consequences of fragmentation, pseudo-analysis, and political hesitation are now impossible to ignore.”
Getachew emphasizes that the solution requires “the emergence of a political movement grounded in public interest rather than personal ambition.”
https://addisstandard.com/?p=55998
#Op_ed: Redrawing Borders by Force: Western #Tigray, unmaking of #Ethiopia’s federal system
For decades, Western Tigray was administered as part of Ethiopia’s Tigray Regional State under the 1995 constitution. That order collapsed in November 2020, when #Amhara regional forces, backed by the federal military, seized the area during the war in Tigray. What followed, writes Gebremichael Negas, was not a routine dispute but “a campaign of ethnic cleansing,” involving mass expulsions, sexual violence, and forced demographic change.
Citing Article 46(2), the author warns that “the crisis in Western Tigray is not an isolated border quarrel” but a threat to Ethiopia’s federal system.
The choice, Gebremichael concludes, is clear: uphold the rule of law or accept borders “redrawn by blood and iron.”
https://addisstandard.com/?p=55128
#Op_ed: Deluge, Defense, and Demolition: Themes in PM Abiy’s #AAU lecture
In this op-ed, Ezekiel Gebissa argues that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s first address to Addis Ababa University, delivered during its 75th anniversary, fell far short of expectations for a vision grounded in “intellectual freedom and scholarly rigor.” Instead, he writes, “It became a political performance that redefined intellectual life in state-friendly terms, insulated executive power from criticism, and practically diminished the country’s most important academic institution.”
By narrowly defining intellectuals as rational, non-dissenting problem-solvers, the prime minister implicitly cast critics as “anti-intellectual.” This, Ezekiel contends, was “not a philosophical clarification; it was a normative directive” privileging compliance over critique.
https://addisstandard.com/?p=54802
#Op_ed: Silence of Scholars, Absence of Intellectual Freedom: Hypocrisy, moral vacuum in PM Abiy’s #AAU lecture
A few weeks ago, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed delivered a lecture titled “Who Is an Intellectual?” at Addis Ababa University’s 75th anniversary. Jawar Mohammed argues the lecture must be assessed against #Ethiopia’s stark realities: “seven years of devastating conflict, eroded academic freedom, and a public discourse reshaped by war.”
He notes that “Intellectual life has been increasingly subordinated to the imperatives of conflict,” with dissenting scholars facing harassment, exile, or silence, while regime-aligned voices dominate media, framing war as “purification” or “historical destiny.”
The author emphasizes that “Absent a candid reckoning with the damage inflicted by years of conflict, appeals to intellectual responsibility, however eloquent, will remain symbolically significant yet substantively inadequate.”
https://addisstandard.com/?p=54676