Boris Johnson has announced the merger of DFID into the FCO. He cites the need to fully integrate all arms of foreign policy into a single coherent whole as his motivation. But the characterisation of DFID as a lone wolf or a “cash point in the sky” is [...]
COVID-19 (C19) is throwing out the normal rule book; and causing everyone to have to think again about what they do, how they do it and why. There has been a rapid re-purposing of almost everything, demanding a much sharper clarity of purpose. Resources are being aligned to the [...]
In a world beset by COVID-19 (C19), the scope to miss other important signs of change or tension is great. In the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia features in quite a number situation, some of which are coming to a head quietly and in the background. It is as [...]
There is no doubt that COVID-19 is a massive change. Many, many assumptions have been tested and found wanting; and many people are wondering what to do next, how to adapt, and what the future holds. But there are limits to conventional programming. Adaptive programming, long theoretical [...]
Introduction Covid-19 (C19) is not just a public health issue. It will have serious consequences for stability and security in many countries, with implications both for the countries themselves and for their international partners. Existing partnerships based on assumptions about a status quo that no longer exists will [...]
Ethiopia is caught in the eye of a storm. It is managing a number of transitions, all at the same time. And it is doing so against the ticking of a number of clocks. Time is against a guarantee of stable and peaceful change in [...]
I am staying in an hotel in the capital city of an African country I have known rather well in the past. It is a nice hotel – nicer than the kind of place I normally stay in. And the kind of “nice” I could get used [...]
Ethiopia is changing. Not always in the right direction; and not always smoothly. But it is changing. The population is growing; getting younger; is increasingly urbanised; but is stubbornly unequal in the distribution of wealth and access to services. And internal political tensions and politics pose an increasing [...]
I used to live and work in the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. The nature of a state… Ethiopia is a strong state, reasonably sure of its identity and sovereignty. Even so, for an outsider it poses a number of challenges. Language, culture, physical geography, history, food, etc. But it [...]
Introduction Zimbabwe has entered a new era. The incoming President, Emerson Mnangagwa, has determined that his government will represent a decisive break with the past; and has declared himself and his party to be the agents of change that Zimbabwe needs. Determined to end years of relative [...]
