In just days, one song by Tewodros "Teddy Afro" Kassahun has ignited a firestorm—revealing not unity, but multiple Ethiopias speaking past each other. What appears as controversy is, in truth, a deeper collision of meanings shaped by power, history, identity, and memory. This article unpacks the layered messages behind the moment, exposing how one song became a prism through which a fractured empire sees itself.
“Cui Bono?”—who benefits? This article applies that question to Ethiopia’s recurring cycles of conflict, arguing that instability is not accidental but structurally embedded. By centering the Oromo experience, it shows how political, military, and economic elites—historically reproduced through entrenched advantage—derive disproportionate benefit, while the broader population bears the cost. Without confronting this imbalance and the unresolved Oromo question, durable peace and equitable development will remain elusive.
A peace conference without the other party present is not a peace conference. It is a political performance. The recent speech by Oromia president Shimelis Abdissa and so-called peace gathering reveal a deeper political reality: peace is being used as rhetoric while politics, historical grievances, and negotiations are carefully avoided. The tragedy of the current conflict is not simply war, but the collapse of trust — and without trust, peace cannot exist.
The forthcoming Oromia and Ethiopia elections are being presented as competitive democratic contests, complete with debates, campaigns, and political messaging. Yet beneath the spectacle lies a political reality many already understand: elections that confirm power rather than contest it. But the real story may not lie in the predictable outcome. It lies on the sidelines—in the debates, the personalities, the rhetoric, and the revealing moments that quietly expose the true nature of politics in Oromia and Ethiopia today.
Ethiopia’s debate over Menelik II reflects far more than disagreement about a ruler’s legacy. It reveals two historical memories occupying the same political space yet interpreting the same events in radically different ways. This essay introduces the concept of moral asymmetry—the unequal ethical weight between disputing a leader’s greatness and denying the suffering experienced by others—and explores whether acknowledging this asymmetry can help narrow Ethiopia’s deeply divided historical narratives.
Calls for unity within the Oromo political sphere have become increasingly frequent, yet unity alone does not produce strategic effectiveness. This article argues that the deeper problem is the lack of an effective architecture of authority capable of assigning roles, managing disagreement, and converting mobilization into institutional power. Drawing on the historical experience of 1991 and the 2014–2018 mobilizations, it examines why fragmentation persists and outlines the institutional design needed for durable political authority.
Eight years after branding Wallaga as too dangerous to visit, Ethiopia’s leadership now stages high-profile tours through a region devastated by war, displacement, and militarization. This article examines how early political rhetoric securitized Wallaga, normalized extraordinary violence, and reshaped policy under the guise of reform. By tracing the arc from fabricated fear to choreographed presence, it asks a hard question: does visibility signal stabilization—or merely a recalibrated façade masking unresolved brutality?
The troubled relationship between Eritrea and Ethiopia has remained unresolved since independence in 1993. This essay explores whether Eritrea secretly regrets its separation, how President Afwerki's fixation on Ethiopian politics reflects deeper insecurities, and what the future holds. Is this a conflict frozen in time—or a struggle over imperial legacy and regional power?
A medieval mindset still haunts the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, preserving Ge’ez exclusivity while marginalizing Oromo identity. A recent video by an Orthodox clergyman exposing this racism underscores the need for ecclesiastical autonomy. This article examines how spiritual exclusion is tied to imperial history—and why a modern, inclusive Oromia Orthodox Church is no longer just necessary, but inevitable.
Empires and regimes fall. Tyrants vanish. And when the reckoning comes, Betelhem Tafese and the Faarseebulaas will face the truth they mocked. Will they eat back the contemptuous lies they vomit today against the truth-tellers, freedom fighters, and human rights activists? No regime built on deception, gaslighting, and blood can last — especially one that feeds starving people fairy tales and street-light shows.
Excerpt This article examines the enduring racist worldview propagated by sections of the Amhara political elite in Ethiopia, with specific reference to a recent video conference led by Professor Getachew Begashaw. It explores how dehumanizing ethnic slurs, territorial revisionism, and historical denialism reflect a psychological phenomenon best understood through Carl Jung’s concept of the Collective...
Faarseebulaa refers to Ethiopia’s emerging class of Digital Serfs—individuals who voluntarily serve authoritarian systems through online propaganda. Unlike historical peasants or proletariats who resisted oppression, the Faarseebulaa defend it for personal gain, low self-worth, and limited awareness. They are not rulers, yet they passionately safeguard the system that exploits the majority.
Excerpt: When intellectualism aligns with power instead of truth, it risks becoming a refined tool of domination. This reflection challenges the legacy of Ethiopian academia and calls for a return to ethical, justice-driven scholarship. Introduction Throughout history, intellectuals have often served as society's conscience—interpreters of truth, critics of power, and illuminators of the human condition....
Questions for Troubling Rhetoric Where does freedom of speech end, and the incitement of dangerous, ethnically charged propaganda begin? At what point does public discourse shift from a right to speak one’s mind into a reckless abuse of influence—especially when the speaker holds public office in a fragile, multi-ethnic society? These are not abstract questions....
There’s something truly ironic about attempts to rewrite history—how they often stumble on the very tools they try to wield. A case in point: a laughable “13th-century map of Abyssinia” now making the rounds. A single glance at its slick, pixel-perfect typography and digitally crisp outlines is enough to raise eyebrows. We are expected to...
Introduction Emperor Haile Selassie ascended to the throne on April 2, 1930. Just over a year later, on July 16, 1931, he promulgated the country’s first modern Constitution. In that founding document, the name “Ethiopia” was formally constitutionalized for the first time—replacing the historical name “Abyssinia.” This name change, however, did not gain international recognition...
