Ethiopia Insight - Bridge the Divide

In this third episode of Bridge the Divide, host Emmanuel Yirdaw had a long chat with William Davison, the founder of Ethiopia Insight and the Ethiopia Senior Analyst for the International Crisis Group. They discussed not just the current situation but also William's work in Ethiopia over the last decade, the divisions, polarisation and propaganda, and his reflections on the pros and cons of the EPRDF system, and its disastrous breakdown.

In the second episode of Bridge the Divide, host Emmanuel Yirdaw talks to Hone Mandefro, a regular commentator on Ethiopian politics and the Advocacy Director at the Amhara Association of America (AAA). They discuss the work of AAA, the Amhara perspective on the ongoing civil war, and possible pathways to resolving the Amhara claims on western and southern Tigray.

Host Emmanuel Yirdaw talks to Adem Kassie Abebe, a constitutional expert at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance and a regular commentator on Ethiopian politics. The conversation, which was recorded on 3 December, is structured around some of the ideas Adem presented in his 12 November article for Foreign Policy entitled A Blueprint for Peace in Ethiopia. The discussion touches on the debate around humanitarian access to Tigray, how to deal with Amhara region's takeover of territory that used to be administered as part of Tigray, achieving mutual recognition between the federal and Tigray governments, and a number of other related issues.

In this episode, Ethiopia Insight Election Project's Juweria Ali asks Tsegaye Birhanu, a former political science lecturer at Assosa University in Benishangul Gumuz and a Peace and Development Work Masters degree student at Linnaeus University in Sweden, to reflect on issues raised in the EIEP's 'EIEP: Marginalization and persecution in Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz'' and his understanding of political dynamics in Benishangul Gumuz region. He did not author the EIEP Benishangul Gumuz article but he has previously published on Ethiopia Insight. Tsegaye was born in Metekel and worked in Benishangul-Gumuz for almost a decade.

In this episode, Ethiopia Insight Election Project's Martha Kuwe Kumsa asks Ermias Tasfaye, Ethiopia Insight administrator and reporter focused primarily on Oromia, to reflect on issues he raised in the EIEP's 'EIEP: Prosperity Party’s win is a loss for Oromia—and Ethiopia'.

In this episode, Ethiopia Insight Election Project's Tobias Hagmann asks Leul Estifanos, an Ethiopia Insight court reporter and a law graduate of Addis Ababa University, to reflect on issues he raised in the EIEP's 'Reforming Ethiopia’s draconian laws amid a derailing transition'.

In this episode, Ethiopia Insight Election Project's Martha Kuwe Kumsa asks Kulle Kursha, an Ethiopian Insight reporter and analyst focused primarily on the Southern Nations and a law lecturer at Hawassa University, to reflect on issues he raised in the EIEP's 'A special statehood request in Ethiopia’s southwest'.

In this episode, Ethiopia Insight Election Project's Juweria B. Ali asks Abdirahman Ahmed, an assistant professor of sociology at Jigjiga University in Jijiga, to reflect on issues he raised in the EIEP's 'New faces, old problems: reforms, clans, and parties in Ethiopia’s Somali region'.

In this episode, Ethiopia Insight Election Project's Martha Kuwee Kumsa asks Yared Tsegaye, an Ethiopia Insight reporter based in Addis Ababa, to reflect on issues he raised in the EIEP's 'Pushing boundaries in Ethiopia’s contested capital'.

In this episode, Ethiopia Insight Election Project's Tobias Hagmann asks Maya Misikir, a freelance journalist based in Addis Abeba based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to reflect on issues she raised in the EIEP's ‘Sidama’s statehood quest, beyond recognition’.

In this episode, Ethiopia Insight Election Project's Tobias Hagmann asks Dawud Mohammed, a lecturer at Samara University and independent researcher based in Samara in Afar region, to reflect on issues he raised in the EIEP's ‘Abiy’s Prosperity yields few dividends for Ethiopia’s Afar’.

In this episode, Ethiopia Insight Election Project's Tobias Hagmann asks Hone Mandefro Belaye, an activist, and commentator, to reflect on issues raised in the EIEP's 'Amhara nationalism at the polls in Ethiopia' and his understanding of Amhara nationalism. Hone is a Ph.D. student at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, and the advocacy head of the Amhara Association of America. He did not author the EIEP Amhara article but he did provide analysis for it.

Okello is based in Abobo and works on security issues for a non-governmental organization. He is a Gambella State Council candidate in Abobo for the Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice Party. In this Episode, Ethiopia Insight's Tobias Hagmann speaks to him about his background and tries to get get further understanding about the situation on the ground in Gambella.