The Horn of Africa since the 1960s: Local and international Politics Intertwined

The volume The Horn of Africa since the 1960s: Local and international Politics Intertwined, published by Routledge, is a result of a collaborative effort that has brought together scholars from Africa and Europe.

Our motivation to write the book came from the need to provide students, researchers, and the general public an easily accessible and general explanation of political dynamics of the fascinating and strategically important sub-region, the Horn of Africa.

Our volume consists of a collection of chapters by African and international scholars who are specialists in international, regional, national, and local affairs in the Horn of Africa. The chapters demonstrate the intertwined nature of actors and forces shaping political realities and include carefully selected case studies on Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Somaliland, Sudan, and South Sudan that illustrate the complex political dynamics.

Edited by Dr. Jan Záhořík and Dr. Aleksi Ylönen, the volume brings together both well-established regional experts and up-and-coming scholars from Ethiopia, South Sudan, Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, and Spain. The book consists of four main parts of which the first deals with political dynamics in the Horn of Africa from macro-perspective. It is followed by paired up country case studies, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Somalia and Somaliland, and Sudan and South Sudan.

In the first part of the volume, Jan Záhořík, Solomon M. Gofie, and Aleksi Ylönen discuss more general issues in the Horn of Africa, including Ethiopia’s central role, statehood, international clientelism, separatism, and international recognition of states in the sub-region. In part two, Jan Záhořík, Gedion G. Jalata, K. Mathews, and Aleksi Ylönen analyze the interplay of external actors and forces and internal politics in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Part three of the volume consists of contributions by Antonio A. Morone, Itziar Ruíz-Giménez Arrieta, K. Mathews, Federico Donelli, and Urban Jakša that underline the importance of the intertwined external actors and forces and internal politics in the making of Somalia and Somaliland and in their current predicament. Finally, part four concentrates on Sudan and South Sudan, including chapters by Aleksi Ylönen, Leben Nelson Moro, and Yosa Wawa on conflict, natural resources, and cultural forces, highlighting again the complex nature of international, national, and local actors and forces.

Overall, the chapters have sought to discuss the entangled nature of international, national, and local politics in the Horn of Africa from various perspectives. They tackle a variety of issues that are relevant for understanding political trajectories of the states and territories in the sub-region. The volume is particularly relevant in its effort to demonstrate the intertwined nature of international, national, and local dynamics and processes which have not yet been adequately dealt with in the case of the Horn of Africa. We wish that the book is an entertaining read and of interest to students, scholars, and the wider public, as it seeks to explain political dynamics shaping states and societies in the diverse and vibrant Horn of Africa.

The book can be purchased directly from the publisher by clicking here.

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