ETHIOPIAN GOVERNMENT PROPOSES PLAN FOR PEACE IN WAR: TIGRAY CONFLICT

Author : Amlan Mishra

Brief Historical Background:

Source : The Wall Street Journal

Ethiopia is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country and claims to be one of the oldest Christian countries in the world. The number of Christians equals the number of Muslims living there. Ethiopian nationalism has its foundations in cultural and political symbols from the northern highlands of the country. These highlands are dominated culturally by the Semitic-speaking Amhara and Tigrayan people.

The TPLF (Tigray People’s Liberation Front) started in February 1975 as a small guerrilla band in the northern region of Ethiopia and ultimately grew to provide the core of the Ethiopian government. It was originally an ethnic-nationalist movement that aimed to secure the free will of Tigray within the Ethiopian polity. The TPLF, for its part, utilized class and ethnic-nationalist principles to assemble Tigrayans until it ejected the Mengistu government in 1991. If we go back to the root cause of the conflict, the dispute originates primarily between TPLF and the Ethiopian Government. The TPLF comprises 6% of the total population that has ruled the country for 27 years but faced defeat in the previous election held in 2018.

Full Article at : https://oijpcr.org/archive/ETHIOPIAN-GOVERNMENT-PROPOSES-PLAN-FOR-PEACE-IN-WAR:-TIGRAY-CONFLICT/632d7ba97963be7bd84487ce

*Amlan Mishra is a Post Graduate Student from AIIS, Amity University, Noida.

TECHNO-NATIONALISM: A KEY DRIVER BEHIND CHINA’S GEOSTRATEGIC AMBITIONS

Author: Dibakar De

Source : Chinadaily

Nationalism today interacts in complex ways with advanced information and communication systems, frequently resulting in unexpected outcomes. Such digital nationalism has become a central feature of political discourse and decision-making in China, at times powerfully shaping the state's policy efforts. The role of advanced information and communication technologies in such processes is of relevance here. How do interactions in complex sociotechnical systems give rise to nationalism?

For digital nationalism to flourish in any country, there are certain criteria that should essentially be met: 1) endorsing overall state-driven nationalistic sentiments 2) the existence of business endeavours which monetise nationalistic sentiments 3) netizens who exploit these sentiments by engaging their audience in provocative communication patterns 4) the development of AI technology that curates information and content, and promotes activities based upon the behaviour of netizens. As per observations thus far, the PRC has met all four of these criteria with tremendous force, and even the Chinese internet system has therefore become an intriguing object of study, covering aspects of technology-society relations and their potential manipulation or alteration to fit into the country’s national power ambitions.

Full article at : https://www.9dashline.com/article/techno-nationalism-a-key-driver-behind-chinas-geostrategic-ambitions

*Dibakar De is a doctoral candidate in AIIS, Amity University, Noida. 

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