The 2020 Rift Valley Institute Horn of Africa Course will explore continuity and changes in the region. The course will be directed by Ken Menkhaus and Michael Woldemariam, along with a team of leading specialists.
SUNDAY, 14 JUNE 2020 TO SATURDAY, 20 JUNE 2020 | KENYA
Dramatic changes in recent years have the potential to fundamentally alter the political, diplomatic and developmental landscape of the Horn of Africa. These include the 2018 leadership transition in Ethiopia, the thaw in Eritrea-Ethiopia ties and increasing levels of competition between external actors across the region. This year 2020 could be another turning point in the Horn of Africa, with historic elections scheduled in Ethiopia and Somalia. The region has experienced several major inflection points in the past, such as in the 1970s when revolutions, wars and major geo-political shifts appeared to transform the region, and in 1990-92 when a new political order was established in Ethiopia, Eritrea gained independence and the state collapsed in Somalia. In each of those previous moments, some aspects of the region were indeed transformed, but other political, economic and social features endured.
The 2020 Rift Valley Institute Horn of Africa Course will explore continuity and changes in the region. We will assess current political events, the prospects of elections, regional relations, and longer social and environmental trends with an eye towards identifying which developments constitute game-changers and which mask or even reinforce existing political settlements and interests. The 2020 course will be directed by Ken Menkhaus and Michael Woldemariam, along with a team of leading specialists.
Highlights of the syllabus
DAY 1 Geographies, people and cultures
DAY 2 Political history and state formation
DAY 3 Mobility, migration and urbanization
DAY 4 The Horn of Africa in an era of change
DAY 5 Security and development
