Hello everyone, it's me Brook. Updates to my blog will be coming soon.

Wishing you a Happy, Healthy Ethiopian New Year 2003!

Professor Brook Hailu Beshah

Political crisis in Madagascar: The aftermath of the creeping militay coup

I was recently interviewed in mid April 2009 by a U.S.-based TV station called the Ethiopian TV Network.

This hour-long, comprehensive interview was on the current political crisis and updates on recent developments in Madagascar, an island nation found off the coast of Africa. The interview focused on the origins of the conflict; the contending positions and differences between the then-President Marc Ravalomanana and Madagascar's new president, Andry Rajoelina; and the positions SADC, the African Union, the mother colonial country France, the U.S., EU, and other countries took.

In this interview undertaken in Amharic, which is the official and a widely-spoken language in Ethiopia, I forward my ideas as to how to resolve this conflict and restore peace, security, and stability in Madagascar.

The interview was broadcasted globally and had generated feedbacks from Ethiopians across the U.S. and European countries. Enjoy and drop me your comment.

Please find the web links and the interviews loaded as Parts one, two, three, four.

Video footage from Q&A period from East African security forum

Below are some videos with my and Paul's responses from the the Q&A period to our event on security and East Africa.

Event on East African security

I participated in an event yesterday on East African Security with my colleague Paul Williams, associate professor of international affairs and associate director of GW's Security Policy Studies program. The event was moderated by Peter Penar, a senior at the Elliott School concentrating on international politics.

Below are my opening remarks at the event:


East African Security Forum with Brook Hailu Beshah and Paul Williams from Elliott School on Vimeo.

Here are Paul's opening remarks:


East African Security Forum with Brook Hailu Beshah and Paul Williams PART II from Elliott School on Vimeo.

Elliott School, GW lost one of its own

I read an article in the GW Hatchet in which staff writers Carly Lagrotteria and Eric Roper reported on the tragic and untimely death of GW alumnus, Brian Adkins (pictured). Adkins was a Foreign Service officer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and he passed away this past February.

I came to know about Adkins from his former professors, particularly Ambassador David Shinn, a colleague who teaches at the Elliott School. I have also heard about him from a couple of his former classmates and friends. My students here at the Elliott School, knowing I am from Ethiopia, approached me when they heard the bad news. We discussed what might have happened, what might have gone wrong, and the issues, opportunities, and challenges inherent in living and working in a developing country.

As a person who has recently lost one of my own, I send to Dan Adkins and family my condolences and the strength to move on.

Brian, may you rest in peace!

Health issues in Africa and similar developing countries

Recently, I attended and made comments in a meeting organized by the GW Elliott School of International Affairs' Culture in Global Affairs research and policy program. This program is directed by Barbara Miller, professor of anthropology and international affairs.

The topic of this interesting meeting, held on March 5, 2009, was "Dirt, Disgust, and Desire: Hand-washing and Health in Developing Countries," and the main speaker was Val Curtis, reader in hygiene and director of the Hygiene Center at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

The significance of this well-attended meeting was the fact that in developing countries particularly Africa, where the lion's share of all the sicknesses and diseases result from improper hygienic practices and issues which are related to water. These issues are very large ones, affecting an even larger percentage of Africans than HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other tropical diseases.

In her talk, Dr. Curtis focused on hygiene behavior in other developing countries, on her findings in regard to the health effects of hand-washing, and on the effectiveness of different approaches to changing hygiene behavior.

Here is Dr. Curtis' talk:



And here is my intervention in the question and answer session:

My interview on current political developments in Somalia with Alhurra TV

Two days ago, I was interviewed by Alhurra TV about political developments in Somalia. You can listen to the interview here.

For the benefit of English readers, here are the main points from the interview:

• I made an all around assessment of the current political situation in Somalia, emphasizing the challenges the government of President Ahmed is facing from within and without.


• I focused on the struggle between the president and Parliament members over his proposal to implement Sharia law in Somalia, which I suggested was an attempt to appease the radical Al-Shabaab. I commended the resistance of a significant number of parliamentarians, who opposed it.


• I argued that this would be opposed by the majority of Somalis -- and thus would not bring peace to Somalia -- and is counterproductive given the fact that Somalis tend to be moderate Moslems. Instead, I suggested that a good option to resolve Somalia's predicament would be to strengthen and support a broad-based government, composed of secular and moderate Islamist political groups. In addition, I underlined the fact that the government should be a secular government based on rule of law, leaving religion and religious matters to the traditional courts.

I also discussed relations between the Al-Shabaab and al Qaeda, and the consequences of those relations to Somalia, and I touched on the ways the region is relevant to the Western and U.S. global war on terror.

Another main issue which was hotly discussed in the interview was the whereabouts and disappearances of Somali youths from Minneapolis who are believed to have gone to join the Al-Shabaab.