Seyoum Mesfin, who was killed in Tigray this week at the age of 71, was Ethiopia’s longest-serving foreign minister. His untimely death robs Ethiopia of a man who exemplified the country’s tradition of enlightened and progressive patriotism. Under other circumstances we would expect a national day of mourning and a state funeral, including national and international recognition of Seyoum’s exceptional contribution to the norms, principles and practices of peace in Africa. As a radical...

Many are asking why the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed, the last Nobel Peace Laureate, is waging war in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. When Abiy Ahmed assumed the premiership, some two years ago, he promised to release political prisoners, expand the democratic space and free up the press.  He also made a peace deal with Eritrea’s President Isaias Afewerki in an attempt to end a stalemate between the two countries that fought a devastating...

“I have never seen anybody run so easy over 5,000 meters, run so fast, and at this level,” the legendary Irish Olympian Sonia O’Sullivan was heard passionately speaking from the commentator’s box in Valencia’s Turia Stadium. Thanks to Covid-19, on that October 7 Wednesday afternoon, only 400 spectators- several of them athletes- were allowed in the Estadi d'Atletisme del Túria. Flanked by a number of pacemakers to keep her in the loop, and all...

     “ኩሉ ነገር ቀድም ተሪፉ  …. ብኣና  ግዜ  ከመይ  ፅቡቕ  ነይሩ  ”  ዝብል  ኣባሃህላ ከምዘሎ  ብፍፁምነት  ካብ  ዘይቕበሉ ሰባት ሓደ  እየ ፡፡ ኩሉ ትዉልዲ ነናይ  ባዕሉ   ጥንኩርን ድኹምን   ጐድኒ  አላዎ ፡፡ ብዕሙት ንሕሉፍ ምዉዳስን ምዉቃሰን ግቡእ ኣይመስለኒን፡፡   ብዕሙት ንሕዚ ዘሎ ትዉልዲ ምዉዳስ ወይ ምንቃፍዉን  ግቡእ  ኣይኮነን፡፡   እዚ መበገሲ ገይረ  ግን ኣብ ሕሉፍ  ብፅቡቕ  አብነት   ዝጥቀሱ ሕዚ  ግና ዝተጓደሉ  ገለ ክብሪታት   ወይ ፀጋታት ክጠቅስ ሓሲበ ኣሎኺ፡፡       ኣነ ከም ዝፈልጦ  ናትና ትዉልዲ  ኣታዓባብያ ትኹረት  ካብ...

Debating Ideas is a new section that aims to reflect the values and editorial ethos of the African Arguments book series, publishing engaged, often radical, scholarship, original and activist writing from within the African continent and beyond. It will offer debates and engagements, contexts and controversies, and reviews and responses flowing from the African Arguments books. Last week, the Tigrai region of Ethiopia held elections in conformity with the established schedule...