Making Sense of the Crisis in Ethiopia
The Lawfare Podcast
The Lawfare Institute
4.7 • 6.4K Ratings
🗓️ 8 December 2021
⏱️ 48 minutes
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Summary
For the past year, the country of Ethiopia has been embroiled in a brutal civil war. At the center of it is Tigray, a region that has played a prominent role in the evolution of Ethiopia's modern ethnofederalist state. Just weeks ago, rebels seemed to be on the verge of seizing the capital city of Addis Ababa, leading foreign governments to urge their nationals to evacuate the country as soon as possible. Today, the city remains in government hands, and rebel forces appear to be on the retreat, though how long they will stay that way is anyone's guess. To put this dynamic conflict in context and give us a sense of where it may be headed, Scott R. Anderson spoke with Professor Michael Woldemariam of the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and Professor Hilary Matfess of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. They discussed the origins of Ethiopia's ongoing civil war, what it's meant for civilians living there and how it might shape the country's future.
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Transcript
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| 0:22.0 | rational security, chatter, law fair no bull, and the aftermath. |
| 0:29.0 | I mean, the military story over time has been very complicated in terms of who has the upper hand, who has the initiative. |
| 0:42.0 | I think in part the story of foreign intervention tells us a lot about the way that the conflict has evolved. |
| 0:49.0 | I think Hillary is absolutely right to note that. |
| 0:51.0 | But it's been an absolutely more generally, I just say it's been an absolute brutal conflict. |
| 0:55.0 | The humanitarian costs are astonishing. The human rights costs are astonishing. |
| 1:00.0 | The harm that's been meted out to civilians really extraordinary. |
| 1:04.0 | I mean, all parties appear to have committed massive cross-addenings in some shape before them. |
| 1:10.0 | Integrize, we speak, millions are living in famine-like conditions. |
| 1:15.0 | It certainly doesn't help that there's an effective humanitarian blockade of that entire region. |
| 1:20.0 | It is a bleak scenario in terms of the human consequences of this conflict. |
| 1:25.0 | I'm Scott Arnerson, and this is the LawFair podcast for December 8th, 2021. |
| 1:31.0 | For the past year, the country of Ethiopia has been embroiled in a brutal civil war. |
| 1:36.0 | At the center of it is Tigray, a region that has played a prominent role in the evolution of Ethiopia's modern ethno-federal estate. |
| 1:44.0 | Just weeks ago, rebels seem to be on the verge of seizing the capital city of Addis Ababa, |
| 1:50.0 | leading foreign governments to urge their nationals to evacuate the country as soon as possible. |
| 1:54.0 | Today, the city remains in government hands, and rebel forces appear to be on the retreat. |
... |
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