The research is based on a longitudinal, multi-sited field project since the first year of operation of the Addis–Djibouti Railway in 2018, coupled with an ongoing investigation into the Addis Ababa Light Train.
A co-authored paper with Zoltan Voros in the Global Social Challenges Journal (in the final phase of peer review) deals with the geopolitical situation of Ethiopia as a land-locked Sub-Saharan African country with the intention of achieving better connectivity into global flows via an enhanced rail network and port access.
Within the realm of IR and geopolitics, the research tackles numerous dimensions of the two railway developments, critically examining their transformative prospects and challenges, ranging from inner-city transportation, via the multiplying effects of large-scale connecting infrastructure, to the issue of debt.
In this talk, we will delve deeper into the everyday presence of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), including all such projects and Chinese loans in general, from an African development perspective. Special attention will be given to the extent to which Chinese activities related to infrastructure enhancement can be understood as constitutive elements of development, particularly as interpreted by the Ethiopian side in the 21st century, and compared with previous forms and interpretations since the 1960s.
The DigiAfrica research project funded within the CIVICA Research Hub call.
The GRID-AFRICA research project has received funding via the EUI Widening Programme call 2026. The EUI Widening Europe Programme initiative, backed by contributions from the European Union and EUI Contracting States, is designed to strengthen internationalisation, competitiveness, and quality in research in Widening countries, and thus foster a more cohesive European Higher Education and Research area.
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