May 17, 2026
Sovereignty vs. Hegemonic Ambition:
Ethiopia’s Expansionist Quest for Outlet to the Sea
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has once again, in his recent rhetoric, aired via Ethiopian state media earlier this month, attempted to frame sovereign sea access as an “existential” and “irreversible national objective.” This narrative rests on the flawed premise that a large country/population, Ethiopia in this case, can inherently rationalize territorial expansion at the expense of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighboring countries as well as the security and stability of both the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea. Globally, landlocked states – from Botswana to Switzerland to Kazakhstan – secure and conduct their…
