Episode #70 | Tigray vs. Ethiopia Civil War (Joshua Meservey)

Just a few years ago, Ethiopia was a darling of foreign policy observers, with some comparing it to Taiwan and South Korea in decades past. Meanwhile, its prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. But now civil war has changed the country’s trajectory. In this episode, Joshua Meservey discusses the ongoing war between Tigrayan forces and the Ethiopian government. He explains how and why the war started, what Tigrayan forces want, and why the war is such a tragedy. Meservey also reviews the human rights violations that have occurred during the fighting. He analyzes what will likely happen next in the country as well as its role in the region. Finally, he describes how the United States should respond to the tragedy and calls on policymakers to develop new, creative solutions for unique situations, instead of using the same tools for these types of crises. Joshua Meservey is the Senior Policy Analyst for Africa and the Middle East at the Heritage Foundation. This podcast was recorded on October 4, 2021.