Semahagn Abebe

Accomplishments

Awards

• German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Scholarship (2007–2012): Graduate research and studies at the University of Göttingen, Germany.

Talks

• “Double Standards in International Responses to Human Rights Violations: A Case Study of Ethiopia.” Third Critical Perspectives on Human Rights Conference, City College of New York, April 17–19, 2024.

  “Human Rights Situation in Ethiopia.” Invited Lecture, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, November 28, 2023.

  “Conflicts, Democracy and the Role of Traditional Institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa.” University of California, San Diego, February 23, 2022.

  “Regional Stability and the Humanitarian Crisis in the Horn of Africa.” Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Brazil, June 6, 2021.

  “Ethnic Federalism, Conflict and Humanitarian Crisis in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia.” African Studies Association, February 23, 2021.

  “Challenges and Prospects of Democratic Transition in Ethiopia.” Conference organized by Vision Ethiopia, Washington, D.C., March 22, 2020.

  “The Changes and Challenges of Democratic Transition in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Invited Lecture, Pacific University, Oregon, February 18, 2019.

  “The Forces Affecting Migration and Refugee Crisis in the Horn of Africa.” Keynote Address, Antioch College, April 14, 2016.

  “The Stifling of Democracy and the Repression of Academic Freedom in Ethiopia.” Invited Lecture, Vassar College, April 6, 2016.

  “The Developmental State Model in Ethiopia: An Economic Miracle or a Mode of Repression?” African Studies Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, November 20, 2015.

  “Transitional Justice in Repressive Regimes.” Invited Lecture, Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, New York University School of Law, November 6, 2015.

  “The Challenges of Social Justice in the 21st Century.” Keynote Address, Global Voices of Change, Becker College, September 19, 2015.

  “The Implications of Anti-Terrorism Laws on Freedom of Expression in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Keynote Address, Third Annual Undergraduate Research Workshop on Human Rights and Free Expression, Illinois Wesleyan University, February 28, 2015.

  “The Human Rights Implications of Large-Scale Land Acquisition in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Ethiopia.” Workshop on Large-Scale Land Acquisitions and Human Rights in the Developing World, Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, McGill University, December 10, 2013.

  “Institutional Accommodation of Cultural Diversity in Sub-Saharan Africa, with Particular Emphasis on Ethiopia’s Ethnic Federal System.” Fifth Annual Conference of the Irish Society of Comparative Law, National University of Ireland, Galway, May 24–25, 2013.

  “Democracy, Human Rights and the Ethnic Federal System in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Ethiopia.” Invited Lecture, Faculty of Law, University of Geneva, April 25, 2013.

  “Ethnic Federalism and the Protection of Human Rights in Ethiopia.” Conference on Law, Power-Sharing and Human Rights, University of Antwerp, Belgium, May 9–12, 2012.

  “The Debate on the Compatibility of African Culture with Liberal Values and the Quest for Legal Pluralism.” Centre for International and Comparative Law, Saint Louis University, March 1–2, 2012.

  “The Challenges of Demarcating Internal Boundaries in Ethnically Divided Societies: The Case of Ethiopia.” Conference on Borders and Border Crossing: New Perspectives on the Horn of Africa, Humboldt University, Berlin, September 30–October 1, 2011.

  “Constitutional Design for Multicultural Nations: The Ethiopian Perspective.” Conference on Societies in Transition: Sub-Saharan Africa Between Conflict and Reconciliation, University of Jena, Germany, July 18–28, 2011.

Publications

• Book

  Abebe, S. G. (2014). The Last Post-Cold-War Socialist Federation: Ethnicity, Ideology and Democracy in Ethiopia. Routledge.

  Journal Articles

  “The Developmental State Model in Ethiopia: A Path to Economic Prosperity or Political Repression?” Social Evolution and History (2018).

  “The Vices of Authoritarian Developmentalism in Ethiopia.” New Research Voices: International Journal of Research from the Front-line (2016).

  “From Justiciability to Justice: Realizing the Human Right to Food.” With Nandini Ramanujam and Nicholas Calvano. McGill International Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (2015).

  “The Relevance of African Culture in Building Modern Institutions and the Quest for Legal Pluralism.” Saint Louis University Law Journal (2013).

  “The Dilemma of Adopting Ethnic Federal System in Sub-Saharan Africa in Light of Ethiopia's Experience.” Journal of African Studies and Development (2012).

  “The Need to Alleviate the Human Rights Implications of Large-Scale Land Acquisition in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Göttingen Journal of International Law (2012).

  “The Implications of Rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to Ethiopia's Financial Sector Policies.” Ethiopian Journal of Economics (2010).