Ethiopia Insight published on 25 April 2025 a commentary titled "Give Soft Power a Chance" by Nebiyu Daniel Meshesha, former Ethiopian diplomat.
While Ethiopia's quest for access to the sea is economically and strategically justified, its reliance on confrontational rhetoric and unpredictable hard power risks alienating neighbors, destabilizing the Horn of Africa, and threatening to make Addis Ababa diplomatically vulnerable. Ethiopia should seek Red Sea access through persuasion and not coercion.
