Ethiopia Insight published on 15 December 2025 a commentary titled "Medieval Myths to Modern Ethiopia" by Muktar Ismail.
The author disputes the myth of the Solomonic dynasty. He concludes that Ethiopia faces a critical challenge in creating a shared narrative that embraces its diverse population. This requires moving away from its Solomonic mythology towards a more inclusive fact-based dialogue.
Ethiopia Insight published on 6 May 2025 a commentary titled "Adwa Is Not the Only Oppressive Ethiopian Myth" by Tarfassa W. Barooddee, a self-employed Oromo living in North America.
The conventional narrative describes the 1896 Battle of Adwa as a decisive triumph of a united African nation resisting European imperialism. But the author argues that "this romanticized myth" obscures a harsher truth: victory at Adwa did not spare the subject peoples of the south from oppression and violence. The author concludes that Ethiopian unity cannot be forged by manipulating history.
Ethiopia Insight published on 22 January 2023 a commentary titled "Ethiopian Nation-building Is Haunted by Its Troubled History" by Muktar Ismail, former advisor to the Somali Regional government and former UN staff member.
The author argues that Ethiopia has not had a history of a deliberate program to build national unity. Internal conflicts that arose over a century ago continue to this day. The wars in Tigray and Oromia are examples of this history. Ethiopia needs to launch a transitional justice and reconciliation process with the aim to end its culture of impunity around past and present abuses.
Addis Insight published on 19 December 2021 an essay titled "Ethiopia: Where Two World Wars Began and the Third is Brewing" by Elias Wondimu, CEO of Tsehai Publishers.
After reviewing Ethiopia's role in World War I and World War II, the author asks: "Might Ethiopia Be Where the Third World War Begins?"
Comment: While the essay attaches more importance to the historical role of Ethiopia in global affairs than I believe it merits, it does remind us that Ethiopia has been a significant factor in global politics for at least 125 years.
Ethiopia Insight posted on 12 August 2020 a commentary titled "OMN: An 'Alien' Star in Ethiopia's Skewed Media Universe Is Cancelled" by Girma Gutema, former executive director of the Oromia Media Network.
The Oromia Media Network, an independent enterprise established in the United States six and a half years ago, moved to Ethiopia in mid-2018. It described itself as a Pan-Oromo voice and broadcast in the Oromo language. It was recently forced to shut down following the assassination of a popular Oromo artist and the subsequent outbreak of violence.
The story line of the article is especially notable because of the legacy attributed to famous Amhara Emperor Menelik II and how this legacy impacts ethnic politics in Ethiopia today.
