The Horn of Africa since 2018: Continuities, Transformations, and Prospects

by Jan Záhorík (Editor), Aleksi Ylönen (Editor)

Overview

This book takes stock of developments in the Horn of Africa since 2018, a key time of political turbulence marked by revolution, military coups, and civil war as well as alliances, peace deals, reforms, and reconciliation processes.

Bringing together a group of experienced and younger scholars from the Horn of Africa and Europe, the book investigates the various multi-layered and intertwined factors and consequences of political developments in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti, and Somalia. The authors investigate the endemic political instability across much of the Horn of Africa, while also reflecting on political continuities and transformations, including attempts at peace- and state-building. They consider the important role of regional organizations and intra- and extra-regional actors in the domestic politics of the states in the Horn of Africa. The book concludes with a section focusing on the prospects for reform and conflict resolution in the context of shifting regional power relations.

This book will be an important resource for researchers working on contemporary politics, history, and society in the Horn of Africa.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032873138
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	04/15/2025
Series:	Routledge Contemporary Africa
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Jan Záhořík is an Associate Professor at the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, University of West Bohemia, and received his PhD (African studies) at Charles University, Prague. His main interests are the modern and contemporary history of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, nationalism, conflict, migration-security-development nexus, Czechoslovak-African relations during the Cold War, etc. He has lectured at around 20 universities in Africa, the USA, and the EU. Recently, he collaborated as a co-editor and author on Routledge Handbook of the Horn of Africa (Routledge, 2022). In January 2023, he received an Award for Internationalization in Research from the rector of the University of West Bohemia. He has developed productive links with universities in Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Nigeria, Senegal, etc.

Aleksi Ylönen is a researcher and a professor specializing in Politics and International Relations in the greater Horn of Africa. Over the past two decades, he has conducted wide-ranging research in the Horn and taught peace, conflict, security, and strategic studies and international politics courses extensively both in Africa and Europe. Dr. Ylönen collaborates with individual researchers and various higher education and research institutions in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. He is a member of a number of expert networks and professional organizations. He has authored and edited several books and altogether over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and his work has also been published in various other scholarly and non-academic outlets. Dr. Ylönen engages in frequent expert commentary for research institutions and conventional and online media.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction  Part I: Continuities  2. Beyond the War in Tigray: Multiple Consequences of the Crisis in Ethiopia  3. Enduring Authoritarianism, Endemic Instability, and Elusive Peace in Sudan  4. Proxies and Powers: Clan Federalism, Unification Attempts, and State-building in Somalia  5. Political Continuity in Eritrea: Domestic and Foreign Policy Considerations  6. Djibouti: A Small State with a Big Role?  7. South Sudan and the Revitalized Peace Agreement: Continuities and Prospects after 2018  Part II: Transformations  8. Can The Center Hold? Dynamics of Political Change and Instability in Contemporary Ethiopia  9. Opposing the Regime in Post-1991 Ethiopia: The Multinational Opposition’s Reshaping, Survival, and Current Opportunities  10. Somalia’s Politics and Regional Relations: From Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed “Farmaajo” to Hassan Sheikh Mohamud  11. Three Decades of De Facto Independence: Somaliland’s Economic and Political Transformation  12. African Union’s Quest for Peace in Somalia: Contextualizing the Transition from AMISOM to ATMIS  Part III: Prospects  13. The Political Economy of Extra-Regional Relations in the Horn of Africa: The Quest for Reform and Conflict Resolution in Ethiopia in the Post-2018 Period  14. Gambella since the Prosperity Party: Some Reflections on Politics, Social Cohesion, and the Near Future of a Periphery  15. Geopolitics–Ports Politics Nexus: The Case of Port of Berbera, Somaliland  16. The Gate of the Horn: The Political Economy of Djibouti in a Shifting Regional Context  17. Investment Perspectives, Indebtedness, and Local Perceptions about China across IGAD Countries