Joseph Siegle: Ethiopia-Somalia Relations and Regional Dynamics

In this episode of Orion Talks, Marta Furlan is joined by Dr Joseph Siegle. Dr Siegle sheds light on the relations between Ethiopia and Somalia over the past few months, following a surprise MoU between Ethiopia and the breakaway region of Somaliland whereby the latter would lease coastal land to Addis Ababa in exchange for recognition of statehood. After outlining the main events and the positions of Mogadishu and Addis Ababa, Dr Siegle explains the significance that this move by Ethiopia may have for the wider Horn of Africa region. He also shares considerations on the international actors' perspective - and possible concern - on those developments. Finally, he concludes with some reflections on how Ethiopian-Somali relations, and broader regional dynamics, may evolve from here.

Dr. Joseph Siegle leads the Africa Center for Strategic Studies’ research and strategic communications program with the aim of generating policy relevant analyses addressing Africa’s security challenges. His research includes understanding the role of governance in advancing security and development; stabilizing fragile states; democratic transitions; and strengthening institutions of democratic accountability. Dr. Siegle has written widely for leading policy journals and newspapers and is a regular media analyst. Prior to joining the Africa Center, he was a Douglas Dillon Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, a senior research scholar at the University of Maryland’s Center for International and Security Studies, and a senior advisor for democratic governance at DAI. For more than a decade, he served in various field capacities throughout Africa, including the Horn, as well as in Asia and the Balkans.

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Orion Policy Institute (OPI) is an independent, non-profit, tax-exempt think tank focusing on a broad range of issues at the local, national, and global levels. OPI does not take institutional policy positions. Accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions represented herein should be understood to be solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of OPI.