To what extent can drones be the primary determinants of victory in warfare? This question is at the heart of the drone revolution debate in security studies. Proponents of a drone revolution argue that drones provide ‘game-changing characteristics’, act as ‘magic bullets’ against adversaries, and even provide the key defence to decide the ‘fate of nations’. Sceptics disagree, arguing that no matter the nuances or contexts of war, drones can never be considered the primary determinant of victory. In this article, we argue that the two sides of the debate rest upon a false dichotomy – that technologies must either be revolutionary or evolutionary. We reappraise country-specific case studies used by both sides of the debate: the Ethiopia–Tigray War, the Houthi–Saudi War, and the Russia–Ukraine War. Our analysis reveals a welcome synthesis; the impact of drone employment depends on the types of war waged, the drone capabilities deployed, and the political objectives sought in each conflict. In this sense, drones can have an impact on war that is sometimes ordinary and sometimes revolutionary. It is only by clarifying the analytical scope of the debate that the impact of drones on the practice of war can be fully understood.

Our essay aims to offer a biography of Elena Sengal (1911–1962), an Italian citizen of Ethiopian origin, whose life offers important elements to better understand both Fascist and postwar Italy. Elena was born into an Italo-Ethiopian family and became an Italian citizen after the naturalisation of her father, Sengal Workneh, a former Italian colonial subject and a lecturer in Amharic and Tigrinya at the Istituto Orientale in Naples. She grew up in Naples where she graduated and later held a teaching position, following in her father’s footsteps. When in 1939 her partner, Guido Cucci, fell in Ethiopia fighting the Ethiopian resistance, Elena found herself alone with a newborn child and struggled to make a living. Her life did not improve with the end of Fascism. Indeed, in postwar Italy it became so unbearable that she relocated to Ethiopia. However, racism and exclusion accompanied her life in the East African country too. This biography is based on archival materials as well as a body of personal letters of Elena Sengal, kindly made available by her granddaughter Maria Elena Cucci.

Comorbidities, which are additional health conditions that occur alongside diabetes, can have a significant effect on blood sugar control. These conditions often complicate the management of diabetes and worsen overall health. Malnutrition, on the other hand, is a common concern for people with diabetes due to difficulties with food intake and metabolism. Proper nutrition is crucial for maintaining general health and effectively managing the disease. However, the extent of comorbidities and malnutrition within this group is not well understood in the study area. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Hawassa governmental hospitals between April and May 2023, involving 422 adult outpatients living with diabetes. The study aimed to evaluate their comorbidities, nutritional status, and associated factors. The required data were collected using structured and semi-structured questionnaires. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted using SPSS version 25.0. Undernutrition and concordant comorbidities were prevalent in the study population, occurring at rates of 15.2% and 57.8%, respectively. Additionally, 18.5% of participants were classified as overweight and obese with a BMI greater than 25 kg/m2. Three significant predictors of undernutrition among adult outpatients living with diabetes were identified: alcohol intake (P < 0.05), comorbidities (P < 0.01), and educational status (P < 0.05). Concordant comorbidity was notably common in these patients. It is recommended that the healthcare system consider comorbid conditions when managing diabetes. A longitudinal study is suggested to provide stronger evidence on these findings.

This study examines longer-run usage frequency of Mirt improved biomass cookstoves (ICS), one of the most important ICS promoted in Ethiopia. Mirt has been shown to improve childhood health, and reduce fuelwood consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, but to generate those benefits, households must regularly use it over extended periods. Thus, this paper focuses on longer-run use using stove surface temperature data over five time intervals. We find that, close to its estimated lifespan, 63 per cent of households had their stoves in place after more than 3.5 years. Of those who abandoned their stoves, over 80 per cent did so due to breakage, indicating little abandonment of functional stoves. Among those who retained their stoves, despite the relatively long time frame, we observe no decline in regular usage, suggesting the ICS deliver long-term benefits. We find no correlation of dis-adoption with three randomly assigned monetary treatments and no effect of treatments on long-run usage frequency.

We conduct a framed field experiment in rural Ethiopia to test the seminal hypothesis that insurance provision induces farmers to take greater, yet profitable, risks. Farmers participated in a game protocol in which they were asked to make a simple decision: whether or not to purchase fertilizer and if so, how many bags. The return to fertilizer was dependent on a stochastic weather draw made in each round of the game. In later rounds a random selection of farmers made this decision in the presence of a stylized weather-index insurance contract. Insurance was found to have some positive effect on fertilizer purchases. Purchases were also found to depend on the realization of the weather in the previous round. We explore the mechanisms of this relationship and find that it may be the result of both changes in wealth weather brings about, and changes in perceptions of the costs and benefits to fertilizer purchases.

To what extent do Chinese construction firms foster linkages with the local economy and support local development outcomes? Despite increasing literature on the impact of Chinese infrastructure projects in Africa, relatively less attention has been paid to the specifics of this interaction, particularly concerning the characteristics of Chinese firms and the host country’s environment in which such partnership unfolds. Drawing on official documents, firm-level surveys and semi-structured interviews, this article examines how both private and public Chinese firms influence local development in Ethiopia’s infrastructure sector. The analysis focuses on several key factors shaping this impact, including employment generation, collaboration and subcontracting with domestic firms, technology and skills transfer and the creation of linkages between infrastructure projects and local manufacturing. The findings indicate that in Ethiopia, many Chinese companies are becoming increasingly integrated with the local economy. However, these synergies are neither uniform nor consistent across all firms or sectors. The study concludes that local economic benefits are contingent upon multiple factors, including the specific characteristics of Chinese firms, the strength of local capacity and the effectiveness of policies designed to regulate and promote local development.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s religious rhetoric and policies stand in sharp contrast to his predecessors during the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Front (EPRDF) period, who carefully and deliberately kept the political discourse free of any religious references. Many were taken by surprise by his pronounced Pentecostal faith. This surprise is arguably a reflection of how scholars and observers have ignored developments within Ethiopia’s Protestant community – and religious dynamics in general – that Abiy is a product of. This paper examines how religious developments within Ethiopia’s Protestant community produced and shaped Abiy as a Pentecostal politician. The paper also seeks to understand some of the main characteristics of the prime minister’s religious ideas and the possible impacts they may have had on his political decisions. My discussion centres on two major aspects. Countering the claims that Abiy aims to ‘Pentecostalize’ Ethiopian politics, I examine what possible implications he might have for Ethiopia’s secular framework and demonstrate how he uses religion in an inclusive way, viewing it as a resource to bring prosperity to Ethiopia. Secondly, to understand the actual content of the prime minister’s religious worldview, I analyse the affective affinities between the so-called prosperity gospel and positive thinking teachings.

Since 2019, Ethiopia has embarked on a new “national project of peace and unity”. The government’s official discourse has been characterised by an uptake in the use of Pan-African and Pan-Ethiopian rhetoric. Strategically invoking visions of a united Africa and shared continental prosperity, the Abiy administration seeks to enhance its international reputation and rally African support for its domestic agenda. To overcome the pervasive ethnofractionalist tendencies in Ethiopia’s political landscape and consolidate the Ethiopian state within its present boundaries, the current government is selectively borrowing political strategies from previous administrations. This has produced a unique, new form of Pan-Ethiopian governance ideals. So far, the repercussions of this government discourse on political tensions in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian diaspora has received no scholarly attention. This academic article analyses the implications of the current Ethiopian government’s deployment of Pan-Africanist and Pan-Ethiopianist rhetoric on Ethiopia’s current political crises. This article argues that these Pan-Africanist and Pan-Ethiopianist rhetoric and ideals are paradoxically perpetuating divisive identity politics in Ethiopia’s domestic and diasporic political realm. This, in turn, exacerbates the most serious threat to Ethiopia’s national unity.

Working animals have a crucial socio-economic role to play for many low-income communities. One such example is in Ethiopia where virtually all the draught power for agricultural production derives from working animals. However, despite this, the welfare status of working animals in this country remains poor. Hence, a clear understanding of the major welfare problems faced by working animals is key to helping improve their welfare status and to maximise their economic contribution. This systematic literature review encompasses 28 studies published between 2010–2024, that address the role of working animals and the factors impinging on their welfare. Suitability of papers for inclusion (and exclusion) involved use of a PRISMA flow diagram. In this review, we also sought to define the exact role of working animals with them found to be used not only for draught power but also as a direct source of food as well as income. A lack of medical care was also highlighted with animals afforded limited access to feed and water, subjected to regular physical abuse, and deprived of access to shelter. Insufficient assessment of welfare and improper methods of data analysis were also found to be an issue, factors that require to be addressed by future researchers to help improve the welfare of working animals in this region

In 1934, the much-publicized engagement of Japanese noblewoman Kuroda Masako to Ethiopian nobleman Araya Abebe made headlines worldwide, epitomizing the transnational dream of a racially anti-hierarchical world. Starting from this unrealized wedding, this article showcases the voice of Kuroda Masako, a racially equal imperial feminist who tried to foster her vision of women participating in the empire-building process even in new settings like Ethiopia. By featuring her practices, we are able to understand why they resonated not only in the women’s press but also in a much larger intellectual scene that comprised Pan-Asian and Pan-African activists. Because of such significant resonance across various non-governmental actors worldwide, the Kuroda-Araya engagement became dangerous to state-endorsed agendas in many countries, which were unwilling to countenance an unprecedented alliance between Ethiopia, Japan, and the African American community at the expense of Western and white civilization discourse. As a result, the engagement created a rupture between popular sympathy and the state, eventually resulting in Japan’s official disengagement from Ethiopia well before the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.