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St. Lawrence University professor participates in panel discussion regarding security situation in Ethiopia

Posted 8/4/16

Abye Assefa, associate professor of sociology and African studies at St. Lawrence University, recently participated in a panel discussion at the Brookings Institution regarding the security situation …

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St. Lawrence University professor participates in panel discussion regarding security situation in Ethiopia

Posted

Abye Assefa, associate professor of sociology and African studies at St. Lawrence University, recently participated in a panel discussion at the Brookings Institution regarding the security situation in Ethiopia and how it relates to the broader region.

In 2015, St. Lawrence University began collaborating with the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., as part of its Africa Security Initiative.

The initiative brings together the expertise of St. Lawrence faculty and student interns with Brookings scholars.

Faculty from St. Lawrence work alongside Brookings scholars and experts from the Institute’s Africa Growth Initiative in its Global Economy and Development Program.

In November, Kristin McKie, assistant professor of African studies and government, took part in a panel discussion on the Great Lakes Region of Africa.

Last summer, Kelly Sampier of Colton participated in a two-month paid internship at Brookings.

In 2014, St. Lawrence launched the Engaging Africa Initiative to expand opportunities for students to engage with Africa through coursework, internships and research both on and off-campus.

Combined with the Brookings collaboration, the Engaging Africa endowment will further enhance a signature component of off-campus study programs in Africa.

Funding from a private family foundation with ties to St. Lawrence has made it possible for both Brookings and St. Lawrence to study important international relations questions for the next three years.

Assefa focuses on world historical change.

His research interests include historical nomadism, the formation of the Horn of Africa region in the modern world.

His intellectual background includes world-systems analysis, social theory, sociology of economic change, structures of knowledge, and the peopling of Africa.

He teaches Foundation of Social Theory, Global Problems, Nomads in World History, Slavery, Race and Culture, Sociology of Consumption, Sociology of Knowledge, Making Modern Africa, Racial and Ethnic Groups, the release said.

According to Brookings, Ethiopia has a history that is unique in the continent. The country has faced its share of conflict, including a protracted civil war from 1974 through 1991, according to a press release from St. Lawrence.

A land-locked location in Eastern Africa, the country has also been witness to climate catastrophes, including the drought that killed a half a million people in the 1980s and the threat of a new drought today.

Despite being one of Africa's poorest countries, Ethiopia has experienced significant economic growth since the end of the civil war, and a majority of its population is literate.

In addition, Ethiopia is a crucial U.S. security partner, in a region plagued by threats, particularly when it comes to counterterrorism, the release said.

For more information visit St. Lawrence University’s African Studies program at www.stlawu.edu/african-studies.