Lisan

Ethiopia.

[Lisan @lzetobia]

@alemayehuGeda @ZecariasG To me, post cost recovery 70% to Somalia sounds reasonable. Sure the 95/5 upfront sounds bad, but it also means quicker cost recovery + limited upfront risk for Somalia. Thoughts @grok

[Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand]

Finally got to read Rubio's speech in Munich: it is one of the most revisionist and imperialist speeches I've ever seen a senior American official make, and that's saying something.

The man literally laments the outcome of WW2 because it marked the end of the era during which "the West had been expanding", a "path" he "hopes [the US and Europe] walk together again."

And just to ensure you're clear about what he means: he wants to restore the building of "vast empires extending across the globe" and blames "anti-colonial uprisings" for what they did to "the great Western empires."

He also says that "we cannot continue" to allow "abstractions of international law" get in the way of US interests.

Basically the man is openly saying that the whole post-colonial order was a mistake and he's calling on Europe to share the spoils of building a new one.

Which is quite a pitch for an American to make given that their own country itself was born from revolt against European colonialism, but I guess expecting the Trump administration to understand their own history is too tall an order...

The most troubling part was the reaction of the audience: "half the hall in Munich gave US Secretary of State Marco Rubio a standing ovation" (https://t.co/NLyEPV4jCX) and I'm pretty sure it wasn't the Global South half...

It just goes to show the complete absence of reflection in Europe. Rubio undoubtedly tried to appeal to some sort of latent nostalgia for Western imperial dominance among European elites. And it obviously worked (which is scary in and of itself).

But it also shows that Europeans remain naive to the extreme if they believe Rubio's pitch that he wants Europe to be strong in order to share the spoils of a new age of Western imperialism.

What's the thinking here? That Trump's America - "America first" - would suddenly become magnanimous and share with Europe just out of sentiment? That's not how imperialism works: the whole premise of it is that the strong dominate the weak.

When an imperial power is speaking to you of sentiments, of how much they like you and how they want to partner with you - the much weaker party - that's cause for worry, not applause...

[Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand]

Sometimes I wonder how the media would write about what's happening in the U.S. if it were just covered as the banana republic it's rapidly turning into.

It'd probably go something like this:

"Escalating Power Struggle Between Strongman and Key Oligarch Threatens Regime Stability

The unstable coalition that brought the controversial strongman back to power appeared to be cracking today as the country's most powerful oligarch launched an unprecedented public attack on the regime.

The spat started when tech magnate openly challenged the strongman's latest legislative package - a massive spending bill that critics say would pump $2.4 trillion into an already bloated security apparatus and military establishment, further militarizing a regime increasingly dependent on force to maintain power while ordinary citizens struggle with basic services and the country's infrastructure crumbles.

In a brazen display of the endemic corruption that has hollowed out the nation's institutions, the tech billionaire accused the authoritarian leader of lying about their private discussions and boldly claimed credit for installing him in power. "Without me, he would have lost the election," the magnate declared on his social media platform.

The volatile leader, known for his history of purging former allies, responded with classic authoritarian tactics - threatening to strip the oligarch of billions in lucrative government contracts that have enriched his business empire through classic resource capture by the extractive elite.

The tech baron escalated dangerously in response, threatening to sabotage critical space infrastructure that the regime depends on for its operations, including spacecraft that rescued astronauts abandoned by the regime's own degraded space capabilities, exposing how the oligarch has systematically captured what were once proud national assets.

In what amounted to an attempted palace coup, the oligarch openly called for the strongman's impeachment and suggested his vice president should assume control instead.

The tech magnate also made explosive allegations linking the leader to a convicted sex trafficker, claiming that damaging files from the criminal's network were deliberately suppressed to protect the strongman from exposure - a bombshell accusation that the regime's propaganda apparatus swiftly buried through coordinated media attacks and threats against the oligarch, following the standard authoritarian playbook of silencing inconvenient truths through intimidation rather than transparency.

The public meltdown sent shockwaves through financial markets, with the oligarch's electric vehicle company hemorrhaging over $150 billion in value as investors fled amid fears of state retaliation against the regime's former kingmaker. The dramatic selloff wiped nearly $9 billion from the tech baron's personal fortune, illustrating how quickly fortunes can shift when oligarchs fall from grace in this increasingly volatile system.

Demonstrating how the regime weaponizes legal systems against perceived enemies, a key loyalist demanded an investigation into the tech mogul's immigration status, suggesting he should be deported from the country.

The spectacle has exposed the fundamental hollowness of the country's fragile institutions, now reduced to mere theater. The regime's Vice President mocked the crisis on social media, posting images that suggested the dramatic fallout was merely entertainment - a troubling sign of how normalized political chaos has become among a ruling elite that appears to treat governance as a reality show.

International observers expressed alarm that the oligarch-strongman feud in this nuclear-armed nation represents a textbook case of institutional collapse, where personal vendettas between power brokers have completely replaced functioning governance. "When you have billionaires threatening to sabotage national infrastructure because they're feuding with the president, you're no longer looking at a functioning regime," observed one prominent scholar.

The irony is not lost on anyone that this is happening under a regime whose signature slogan promises to 'Make America Great Again.'"

[Jelani Nelson @minilek]

Happy Adwa Victory Day!

129 years ago, Italian military forces attempting to colonize Ethiopia were completely annihilated in the Battle of Adwa by the Ethiopian Imperial Army, under the leadership of Emperor Menelik II and his generals.

The defeat was so embarrassing for Italy that their Prime Minister, Francesco Crispi, resigned just a week later. Five days after that, the King of Italy declared his birthday a day of mourning.

[Lisan @lzetobia]

@ben_golub There is much scholarship that is also political (and some would classify as activism because they don’t like the message). Even not protesting is a political position about the status quo. Actiivism/real-scholarship dichotomies are a slippery slope.

[Ronald Lamola @RonaldLamola]

Media Statement
8 February 2025

Government of South Africa notes the USA Executive Order

The government of South Africa has taken note of the latest executive order issued by President Trump. It is of great concern that the foundational premise of this order lacks factual accuracy and fails to recognize South Africa's profound and painful history of colonialism and apartheid.

We are concerned by what seems to be a campaign of misinformation and propaganda aimed at misrepresenting our great nation. It is disappointing to observe that such narratives seem to have found favour among decision-makers in the United States of America.

It is ironic that the executive order makes provision for refugee status in the US for a group in South Africa that remains amongst the most economically privileged, while vulnerable people in the US from other parts of the world are being deported and denied asylum despite real hardship.

We reiterate that South Africa remains committed to finding diplomatic solutions to any misunderstandings or disputes.

ISSUED BY THE MINISTRY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION
OR Tambo Building
460 Soutpansberg Road
Rietondale
Pretoria
0084

[Lisan @lzetobia]

Interesting theory but what is happening looks like chaos and much less intentional.

[Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand]

It's becoming clearer and clearer that we're looking at a seismic shift in the US's relationship with the world, between:

1) The US dismantling its foreign interference apparatuses (like USAID 👇)
2) Marco Rubio stating that we're now in a multipolar world with "multi-great powers in different parts of the planet" (https://t.co/dyHpStHPsO) and that "the postwar global order is not just obsolete; it is now a weapon being used against us" (https://t.co/TPOksRgnwP)
3) The tariffs on supposed "allies" like Mexico, Canada or the EU

This is the US effectively saying "our attempt at running the world is over, to each his own, we're now just another great power, not the 'indispensable nation'."

It looks "dumb" (as the WSJ just wrote) if you are still mentally in the old paradigm but it's always a mistake to think that what the US (or any country) does is dumb.

Hegemony was going to end sooner or later, and now the U.S. is basically choosing to end it on its own terms. It is the post-American world order - brought to you by America itself.

Even the tariffs on allies, viewed under this angle, make sense, as it redefines the concept of "allies": they don't want - or maybe rather can't afford - vassals anymore, but rather relationships that evolve based on current interests.

You can either view it as decline - because it does unquestionably look like the end of the American empire - or as avoiding further decline: controlled withdrawal from imperial commitments in order to focus resources on core national interests rather than being forced into an even messier retreat at a later stage.

In any case it is the end of an era and, while the Trump administration looks like chaos to many observers, they're probably much more attuned to the changing realities of the world and their own country's predicament than their predecessors. Acknowledging the existence of a multipolar world and choosing to operate within it rather than trying to maintain an increasingly costly global hegemony couldn't be delayed much further. It looks messy but it is probably better than maintaining the fiction of American primacy until it eventually collapses under its own weight.

This is not to say that the U.S. won't continue to wreak havoc on the world, and in fact we might be seeing it become even more aggressive than before. Because when it previously was (badly, and very hypocritically) trying to maintain some semblance of self-proclaimed "rules-based order", it now doesn't even have to pretend it is under any constraint, not even the constraint of playing nice with allies. It's the end of the U.S. empire, but definitely not the end of the U.S. as a major disruptive force in world affairs.

All in all this transformation may mark one of the most significant shifts in international relations since the fall of the Soviet Union. And those most unprepared for it, as is already painfully obvious, are America's vassals caught completely flat-footed by the realization that the patron they've relied on for decades is now treating them as just another set of countries to negotiate with.

[Lisan @lzetobia]

It seems we are watching the undoing of America by people who claim they are here to save it.

[Lisan @lzetobia]

When evil knows no bounds

https://t.co/NfdSrsMecm

[Lisan @lzetobia]

@ProfPaulPoast @WPReview *wields…

[Lisan @lzetobia]

@ProfPaulPoast @WPReview The conflicts in and around Ethiopia revolve around which group and ideology yields power over the state internally, and which country dominates the Horn extrenally. Of course who ever yields power will have a say over land, but that is not at the center of the myriad conflicts.

[Brook @Abba_Bezbiz]

We stand at a critical juncture as our historical sites and heritage face deliberate erasure under Abiy Ahmed’s reckless urban overhaul. The destruction of Atnaf Seged Yelma’s historic residence is not just the loss of a building—it’s the erasure of our collective memory, culture, and identity. Addis Abeba, with its rich history, is being gutted in favor of low-quality, flashy structures that serve no purpose but vanity, while citizens are displaced without justice. This is not development—it is a crime against our legacy.

As John Ruskin once said, “Great nations write their autobiographies in three manuscripts—the book of their deeds, the book of their words, and the book of their art.” When we destroy our heritage, we lose a vital chapter of our story.

Let this serve as a call to document, cherish, and protect what remains of our legacy. Stand for history. Stand for Ethiopia. The time to act is now.

@GEngida56 @YonasBiru57 @HOAAffairs @NeaminZeleke @mamamesay @USEmbassyAddis @AbiyAbz @addisstandard @UNESCO

[Lisan @lzetobia]

@solassefa @Tesfatsion @elonmusk I mean, no one made Trump say these things. Are you betting this is all for show?

[Lisan @lzetobia]

@alemayehuGeda Figure 1 didn’t get as much attention but shows a diverging trend over time between highly educated and PhD students https://t.co/HZGBuqBrJZ

[Lucija Batinovic @Luce10101]

@EikoFried

[Lisan @lzetobia]

@alemayehuGeda @ArjanDevDebate Congratulations! Looking forward to reading it.

[Lisan @lzetobia]

@HabtishGurmu What a travesty! A generic place where roads take precedence over people. Yes, Piassa needed renovation and upkeep. It did not and does not need this.

[William Dalrymple @DalrympleWill]

An Ethiopian delegation arrives at the Satavahana court c180. The magnificence of the Amaravati stupa was due to its proximity to the important port of Dharanikota, where excavations of its wharves have revealed quantities of glass & amphorae of wine, imported by Axum traders

[William Dalrymple @DalrympleWill]

Ethiopian traders or diplomats c180, as illustrated in scenes from Amaravati. These E Africans were probably from Axum whose merchants were important participants in the trade between Roman Egypt & India. They came to buy the cotton & traded in ivory, gold & wine from Roman Egypt