Understanding the Conflict in Northern Ethiopia: The Roles of Party Affiliated Endowment Companies

Whether the conflict that was started on November 3, 2020, in Northern Ethiopia will be short-lived or a protracted one that turns itself into a stalemate, guerrilla warfare and draws the Greater Horn of Africa region into larger conflict is unclear. The spark of November 3, 2020, was a result of the simmering tensions that were allowed to build up within the once invincible ethnic coalition that ruled Ethiopia for 27 years. TThe cleavages cut through all state institutions, including in the defense and security establishments. In this short paper, I attempt to provide a rejoinder to show that “the Tigray conflict” has as much to do with resource control as it is with politics. De-escalation of the conflict requires the understanding of the stakes for the parties to the conflict. The ownership and management of party-affiliated endowment companies are one of the economic dimensions of the conflict. The paper outlines the pros and cons of various reform options.