FPRI Special Briefing: The Ethiopia-Tigray Conflict

The recent hostilities between Ethiopia and its northern Tigray region threaten to escalate into a full-scale civil war that could spill beyond Ethiopia's borders.  This could upset the delicate balance of power in the Horn of Africa, and spark a humanitarian and economic crisis for the region and beyond.  Long a regional ethnic power and a major player in the Ethiopian Government, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) has grown increasingly alarmed by what it perceives as political slights perpetrated by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed who came to power in 2018 following popular uprisings and calls for democracy.  For its part, Mr. Ahmed’s government defends recent moves as crackdowns on corruption.  To make sense of this complicated and volatile situation, former ambassador to Eritrea Robert G. Houdek, ambassador to Ethiopia David Shinn and Africa expert Dr. Emma Boyle will join us in a discussion moderated by FPRI Trustee and Chair of FPRI’s Africa Program, Ambassador Charles A. Ray.

Robert G. Houdek has had a 35 year as a Foreign Service Officer,  during which he served as a Special Assistant to Dr. Henry Kissinger at the NSC, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador/Chief of Mission to Uganda, Ethiopia, and Eritrea; other  African assignments included Kenya (DCM), Sierra Leone (DCM), and Guinea (political officer). he is a recipient of the President's Exceptional Service Medal for his role in the evacuation of Ethiopian Jews to Israel in the last days of the civil war.  He enjoyed a second, ten year career, as the National Intelligence Officer for Africa

David Shinn has been teaching in the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University since 2001.  He previously served for 37 years in the Foreign Service with assignments at embassies in Lebanon, Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritania, Cameroon, Sudan, and as ambassador to Burkina Faso and Ethiopia.  One of his positions in the State Department was director for East Africa and the Horn of Africa.  He is the co-author of the Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia and China and Africa: A Century of Engagement.  He has a PhD in political science from George Washington University.