The primary objective of this study was to investigate the practices and challenges of good governance in urban land administration, with a particular focus on the Debre Markos City Administration. The study selected the Debre Markos City Administration Municipality service office as a case study. This study employed a mixed research approach, and data were collected through questionnaire and interview methods obtained from both public servants and customers. The data was analysed through descriptive analysis. Based on the analysis conducted using three core elements of good governance—transparency, accountability, and responsiveness, the study found that there were poor practices of good governance in urban land administration. On the other hand, the study investigated various challenges of good governance in urban land administration, which emanate from personal, administrative, and socio-economic problems such as the absence of innovative figures of land registration, lack of monitoring and evaluation, inadequate institutional performance, and absence of reward and punishment systems. In general, the findings of this study revealed that due to various challenges, there were poor practices of good governance in terms of transparency, accountability, and responsiveness in the study area. These challenges impede people’s access to quality service in urban areas and undermine the trust between citizens and the government. Finally, enhancing institutional capacity, consistent implementations of monitoring and evaluation, innovative figures of land registration, and giving corrective measures for wrongdoers were stated as recommendations.

Abstract
The main purpose of this study is to examine the repercussions of Red Sea instability on the Red Sea Region security. This research is significant in providing theoretical insights for stakeholders to address the repercussions of Red Sea instability in the Red Sea Region for the region's states. This study employed a Qualitative research approach with a Case study research design, and data were collected through interviews and document analysis. The data was analysed through thematic analysis. Based on the analysis conducted; the study found that the instability of Red Sea leads to various socio-economic problems in the region, such as economic disruptions, political instability, piracy threat, Security threats and diplomatic challenges, increased competition among regional powers, potential to proxy war, large-scale displacement and refugee influx, proliferation of arms and weapons, disruption of trade route in the region states. In general, the findings of this study revealed that the Red Sea region governments play a pivotalrole in addressing the multi-faceted challenges of Red Sea instability in the region by strengthening diplomatic engagement with neighbouring Red Sea countries & regional powers; exploring economic diversificationstrategies for their economy, and enhancing and legalizing their maritime security. Red Sea region states should collaborate with international organizations, strengthen national institutions, strengthen security forces, and address conflicts in the Red Sea Region to prevent spillover effects and counter terrorism efforts.Keywords:  Red Sea, Red Sea region, Security,Turmoil

Political narrative is an instrument for political actors to construct a shared meaning, and it can be harnessed to harm political opponents. The Italian invaders, the Ethiopian Student Movement, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, the Oromo Liberation Front, and the incumbent regime contributed in varying degrees to the Amhara domination narrative. TPLF, in its political manifesto and later in the 1995 FDRE constitution, institutionally crafted an anti- Amhara narrative, reaching a crescendo after Abiy Ahmed assumed office in 2018. Thus, this research article tried to scrutinise and weigh the discourse of institutionally crafted Amhara existential threats. The study employed a qualitative research tradition and an exploratory research design approach that involved a political-economic analysis. The study finds that the century-old Amhara domination narrative, coupled with institutionally supported recurrent mass killings and expulsion, especially in Oromia, Benishangul- Gumuz, and Amhara regional states, posed a real and perceived existential threat that gave birth to the Amhara Fano armed struggle.KEYWORDS: Narrative; institution; existential threat; identity;Fano; Amhara

Secularism in Ethiopia has not been practiced as stipulated in the 1995 Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) constitution, the separation of state and religion. Instead, consecutive regimes since the introduction of secularism employed the tactic of co-option and repression towards the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church (EOTC) to meet their political objectives. This article thus tried to address the nature and manifestation of government intervention in the EOTC through either co-option and/or repression, with a special emphasis on the post-2018 regime. The study argues that de facto secularism in Ethiopia is far from the essence of the separation of state and religion; it is a new version of religion industriously implemented by governments to upgrade the Orthodox Church in a way that fits with the political system. The secular regimes co-opted and repressed the church conditionally at any cost to the institution through the Machiavellian approach. The study also finds that the Prosperity-led regime was actively involved in the internal affairs of the church—in the early days through co-option in the name of reconciliation with the exile synod and later through repression. Manifestations of this repression include the mass killing of orthodox followers, burning of churches and restriction on the church’s annual ceremony, as in the case of Epiphany and Meskel(Demera).Keywords: Secularism, religion, co-option, repression, EOTC

The evolving engagement of the Gulf States in the Horn of Africa has become an emerging determinant of the region’s current and future security landscape. The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) active presence in the political economy of Ethiopia, following the Ethiopia–Eritrea peace deal, brings existing and potential security threats to Ethiopia and the wider Horn region. This study mainly tried to glean the political and security threats posed by the UAE’s active presence in Ethiopia since 2018. This study employed a qualitative research approach with an exploratory research design. The primary and secondary data were thoroughly consulted. The study argues that, given Ethiopia’s age-old dispute with Egypt and Sudan—strategic, historical and religious alliance with the UAE over Nile River utilisation—the UAE is unlikely to be Ethiopia’s strategic partner. The study also finds that the theocratic and undemocratic state experiences of the UAE, coupled with the de-institutionalised nature of bilateral relations, put the UAE at odds with Ethiopia’s long-range national interests. The rival advent of Gulf States in the region also exposed Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa states to potential proxy wars.Keywords: Gulf States, security, threats, UAE, Ethiopia

This study investigates the dynamics of instability among the Amhara people in Ethiopia following the political reform of 2018. It examines the main causes, key actors, phases of instability, and possible remedies. Employing a mixed-method research design, the study collected data through questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions, and document analysis. Thematic and descriptive analyses were used to interpret the findings. The research reveals that the ongoing instability in the Amhara region since 2018 involves multiple actors and has both historical and contemporary roots. Deep-seated historical contradictions, coupled with a regressive political culture, have contributed to the persistence of unrest. Left-wing ethnically based political parties that perceive the Amhara as historical adversaries—alongside power struggles within the ruling coalition, merged as central drivers of instability. Beyond external political forces such as the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), internal factions like the Oromo Democratic Party (ODP) also played direct and indirect roles. Additionally, influential activists have further intensified the region’s instability. Factors such as public euphoria following the 2018 reform, the weakening of state institutions, perceived political dominance of the ODP, divisions among Amhara elites, the outbreak of the Tigray war, and shortages of agricultural inputs like fertiliser have collectively fueled the unrest. By categorising the instability into three distinct phases, the study offers a comprehensive understanding of its evolution. Ultimately, it concludes that inclusive political dialogue, mutual understanding among major actors, and national consensus are essential pathways toward restoring stability and peace in the Amhara region.
  Keywords: Amhara, Causes, Instability, actors, Ethiopia, Remedies

Weather information (WI) related reliability problems and constraints are commonly reported factors forfarmers’ adaptation decisions to climate-induced impacts in Ethiopia. However, the level of reliability of theWI, kinds of the WI constraints, and how these constraints impede farmers’ adaptation decisions have notsystematically been studied. The present study investigated the reliability and constraints of WI from farmers’perspective in East Gojjam Zone. Three hundred fifty-eight farm households were selected from three woredasthrough random sampling. Interview surveys, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews wereapplied to generate quantitative and qualitative datasets. Frequency, mean score, and correlation wereemployed to analyze the quantitative dataset, while descriptive-interpretative method was used to analyzethe qualitative ones. The findings disclosed that farmers in the study area have diverse WI sources thoughonly farmers’ own experiences and development agents were perceived to be reliable sources for them.The correlation coefficient results confirmed that the number of WI sources had significant positive relationswith family size, and farmland size, while it had a non-significant negative correlation with the farm experiencesof the household heads. The study also identified a range of socioeconomic, demographic and institutional factors, and programming mechanisms and information contents of which the four top that negatively affect farmers’ adaptation decisions were spatial ambiguity, lack of trust, lack of information about the seasonal onset, itsend, and its distribution within the season. To guide farmers’ effective adaptation decisions, these constraints inthe information contents of the WI have to be resolved.KeywordsWeather information, reliability, constraints, East Gojjam, Ethiopia 

ዐውድማ ሰብልን ለመውቃት ኣገልግሎት የሚውል በክብ ቅርጽ የሚዘጋጅ የራሱ የሆነ ሃይማኖታዊ ባህላዊ እና ኢኮኖሚያዊ ይትባህል ያለው በሃገራአችን ኢትዮጵያ ዘመን ተሻጋሪ ተግባር ነው። የዐውድማ ተግባር የጾታ፣ የ እድሜ እና መሰል ነገሮች የማይለያዩት ሁሉም በህብረት የሚመለከተውን ድርሻ የሚወጣበት፣ እንስሳቱም አስተዋጽኦ የሚያደርጉበት የአርሶአደሩ የመጨረሻ ውጤት የሚታይበት፣ ገለባው ለንእስሳት መኖ የሚሰበሰብበት ክዋኔ ነው።የዚህ ምርምር ዋና አላማ ዐውድማ በጎጃም አርሶ አደሮች ዘንድ ያለውን ባህላዊ፣ ሃይማኖታዊ እና ማህበራዊ ትውፊት በዐውዱ መተንተን፣ መሰነድ እና በሂደቱ ውስጥ የሚኖረውን የምርት ብክነት መንስኤዎችን መግለጽ ነው፡፡ ጥናቱ ያተኮረው በጤፍ፣ በስንዴና በገብስ ሰብሎች ላይ ነው። ጥናቱ  በምሥራቅ ጎጃም ዞን መልክአ ምድሩን መሠረት አድርጎ በተመረጡ ወረዳዎች ላይ ትኩረቱን አድርጓል፡፡ እነዚህም በደጋ፣ ወይና ደጋ እና ቆላማ ቦታዎች ላይ ትኩረት ተደርጎ የተመረጡ ናቸው፡፡ ጥናቱን የተሟላ ለማድረግ በፌኖሚኖሎጅ ዘዴ መረጃውን ከሚያውቁት ሰዎችና ከሚገኙበት ቦታ ድረስ በመሔድ በመስክ የቀጥታ ምልከታ ከቀዳማይ ምንጮች ለመሰብሰብ የሚያስችል ተጨባጭ የምርምር ዘዴ ነው፡፡ በመሆኑም በሃገራችን ኢትዮጵያ በተለይ በመረጥነው የምርምር ቦታ ዐውድማ ሃይማኖታዊ፣ ባህላዊ፣ ማህበራዊ እና ኢኮኖሚያዊ ጠቀሜት ያለው ከትውልድ ትውልድ ሲተላለፍ የመጣ የራሱ የሆነ ስነቃሎች ያሉት ጠቃሚ ስርዓት ነው። ነገር ግን አሁን ስርዓቱ እየቀዘቀዘ መምጣቱን እና አብሮነት እና መተጋገዝ እየጠፋ አቅመደካሞች በጋራ(ከብት የሌለው በጉልበቱ) የሚለውን ይትብሃል እንዳይጎለብት፣ በዐውድማ ክዋኔ ወቅት የሚኖረውን የምርት ብክነት ብቻ በማየት ጠቀሜታውን በመዘንጋት ወደ ዘመናዊ ኮምባይነር የመቀየር ተግባር መኖሩን በመረጃ ማረጋገጥ ተችሏል። አሁን በሚኖረው ሁኔታ በዐውድማ ስርዓት የሚኖሩ ሃይማኖታዊ፣ ባህላዊ እና ኢኮኖሚያዊ ክዋኔዎች በዚሁ ከቀጠሉ የሚረሱ እና የሚኖረው እሴት የሚጠፋ መሆኑን ድምዳሜ ላይ መድረስ ይቻላል። በመሆኑም እንደ ኢትዮጵያ ያሉ ሃገራት(የአርሶአደሩ የመሬት ጥበት፣ መልካምድሩ ገባ ወጣ ማለት፣የሰው ሃይል በብዛት ያለበት፣ለአቅመ ደካሞች የሚኖረውን ፋይዳ በመዘንጋት፣ የሰብሉ አደራረስ በተለያየ ጊዜ በሚደርስበት ወዘተ) ዐውድማ አስፈላአጊ ስርዓት በመሆኑ የሚመለከተው አካል ትኩረት እንዲሰጠው ማመላከት እንወዳለን።

This study aims at exploring the potentials and drawbacks of utilizing social media to promote tourism industry in East Gojjam Zone. The study will be geographically limited to East Gojjam Zone and will not include media platforms other than social media. The research will bring significance to the culture and tourism offices, agencies that work on tourism industry and an input for the government organizations in policy formulation as well as for future researchers. Qualitative research approach with descriptive design will be employed. The population of this study is social media pages of Culture and Tourism Offices of all the woredas found in East Gojjam Zone and of the Zones’ Culture and Tourism Department. The sample will be purposive sampling of all social media pages of the woredas and the zone. Focus group discussion and indepth interview will be conducted in eight selected woredas and zonal culture and tourism office. East Gojjam Zone has 19 woredas including Debre Markos town. The data will be gathered using content analysis of the social media posts, focus group discussion and in-depth interview. In addition, data will also be collected from reports, and publications like newsletters and articles.To collect the data official support letter will be submitted to the Culture and Tourism Department of East Gojjam Zone. The authenticity of social media pages of the woreda tourism offices will be confirmed with the concerned bodies at the zonal level. The collected data using online content, in-depth interview and focus group discussion will be triangulated for data analysis. The researchers expect to find out social media usage patterns and preferences in tourism promotion, social media promotion strategies and implementation, social media regulation and governance in tourism promotion. Atotal budget of 201, 722 ETB will be allocated to conduct the whole study from April to September, 2024. 

ይህ የምርምር ንዴፇ ሃሳብ የትውሌዴን ግብረገባዊ እሴት በመገንባት ሂዯት የተቋማት ሚና  ሊይ ትኩረት አዴርጓሌ፡፡ አሊማውም የትውሌዴን ግብረገባዊነት በመገንባት ሂዯት ውስጥ የተቋማት ሚና፤ምን እንዯሚመስሌ መርምሯሌ፡፡ ይህንን አሊማ ከግብ ሇማዴረስ መረጃዎች ከወሊጆች፣ከመምህራን፣ከተማሪዎች፣ ከሃይማኖተ አባቶች እና ከምዕመናን በጽሁፍ መጠይቅ፣ በቃሇ መጠይቅ እና በቡዴን ውይይት ተሰብስበዋሌ፡፡ የተሰበሰቡት መረጃዎችም ትንታኔ ተሰጥቶባቸዋሌ፡፡ በትንታኔው መሰረትም ከጽሁፍ መጠይቅ፣ከቃሇ መጠይቅ እና ከቡድን ተኮር ውይይት የተገኘው መረጃ እንሚያመሇክተው የወሊጆች የትውሌድን ግብረ ገባዊ እሴትን እና ባህሪን  የመገንባት ሚናቸው ከፍተኛ ነው፡፡ ወሊጆች የትውሌዴን ግብረገባዊ እሴት እና ባህሪ ሇመገንባት ከሌጆቻቸው ጋር ሰፊ ያሇ ውይይት እንዯሚያዯርጉ ጥናቱ አመሊክቷሌ፡፡ እንዱሁም ወሊጆች ሇሌጆቻቸው መከባበርን፣መዋዯዴን፣ታማኝነትን፣እውነተኝነትን ሇማስረጽ ከፍተኛ ጥረት እንሚያዯርጉ ጥናቱ አሳይቷሌ፡፡ እንዱሁም የመምህራን የትውሌድን ግብረገባዊ እሴት እና ባህሪ የመገንባት ሚናቸው ከፍተኛ እንደሆነ ትንተናው አመሊክቷሌ፡ ፡ የተማሪዎችን ግብረገባዊ እሴት እና ባህሪ ሇመገንባት መምህራን አርአያ መሆንን፣ክብር መስጠትን፣ታማኝ ሆኖ መገኘትን እንዯሚተገብሩ ጥናቱ አሳይቷሌ፡፡ በተመሳሳይ የሃይማኖት መሪዎች እና ምዕመናን የትውሌድን ግብረ ገባዊ እሴት እና ባህሪ በመገንባት በኩሌ ከፍተኛ ሚና እንዳሊቸው ጥናቱ አሳይቷሌ፡፡