René Lefort

René Lefort has been writing about sub-saharan Africa since the 1970s and has reported on the region for Le Monde, Le Monde diplomatique, Libération, Le Nouvel Observateur.

He is the author of "Ethiopia. An heretical revolution?" (1982, Zed books).

Local bosses may fill the party-sized hole in Ethiopia’s next election

Ethiopia has traditions of local self-government – could they induce voters to look at independent candidates for Parliament?

By René Lefort

/ 25 Oct 2019

Local bosses may fill the party-sized hole in Ethiopia’s next election

Political shake-up and localism can edge Ethiopia forwards

To end paralysis, the political landscape needs restructuring: resurgent grassroots democracy must smother elitism, starting with local elections.

By René Lefort

/ 29 May 2019

Political shake-up and localism can edge Ethiopia forwards

Ethiopian elite lost in electoral maze under Abiy's gaze

If the Prime Minister chooses to lean on his personal popularity, could he obtain and sustain enough political support ? There is no easy answer or quick fix to the gathering predicament.

By René Lefort and Kjetil Tronvoll

/ 27 Feb 2019

Ethiopia’s reform process: a seven-point response to Messay Kebede’s critique

“I don’t have any “aim” when I write my articles, other than to present the situation as I understand it. I don’t have any intention, right, or ability to interfere with, let alone alter, Ethiopia’s political course.”

By René Lefort

/ 9 Nov 2018

Ethiopia: climbing Mount Uncertainty

"Abiy Ahmed has already gone down in history for addressing the pressing demands of the vast majority of Ethiopians... But Abiy Ahmed made three mammoth strategic errors."

By René Lefort

/ 21 Oct 2018

Pacified politics or risk of disintegration? A race against time in Ethiopia

The dramatic changes of the last months have moved Ethiopia away from “the gates of hell ”, but all options are still on the table, from the worst to the best.

By René Lefort

/ 21 Aug 2018

Twofold crisis in Ethiopia: the elites and the street

Ultimately, the only route to its successful end is regulation through institutional mechanisms, which means elections, whether early or within the normal electoral cycle.

By René Lefort

/ 12 Apr 2018

Crisis in Ethiopia: elections, and fast!

What is urgent is to bring down the tension by focusing the hopes and energies of the activists on a political way out, in the form of a tested, unchallengeable mechanism.

By René Lefort

/ 20 Feb 2018

“Ethnic clashes” in Ethiopia: setting the record straight

First there are the undisputed events. Then there are the media reactions, and these – apart from a few rare exceptions, among them some of Ethiopia’s private media – have been perplexing.

By René Lefort

/ 22 Oct 2017

Ethiopia’s crisis

Things fall apart: will the centre hold?

By René Lefort

/ 19 Nov 2016

The ‘Ethiopian Spring’: “Killing is not an answer to our grievances”

There is every sign that Ethiopia is plunging into a crisis whose scale, intensity, and multiple and interdependent drivers are unprecedented since the founding of the regime in 1991.

By René Lefort

/ 9 Sep 2016

Unrest in Ethiopia: the ultimate warning shot?

The culture of power is one of centralisation. But real federalism couldn’t be beyond reach. Oromya shows that it is becoming an absolute requirement.

By René Lefort

/ 2 Feb 2016