The Abiy Project: God, Power, and War in the New Ethiopia

Gardner argues that since coming to power in 2018, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has become one of the most debated political leaders in contemporary Africa. Following years of political unrest his ascent to was initially welcomed. Nonetheless, optimism gave way to growing violence, shrinking democratic space, and most importantly the war in Tigray. While many studies, he added, explain this transition by focusing on ethnic federalism, elite competition, state institutions, or Ethiopia’s changing geopolitical factors, Gardner in his book promised to offer a different explanation. He argues that understanding Abiy Ahmed’s political vision requires taking religion seriously, for Gardner, the influence of Pentecostal Christianity and prosperity gospel on the prime minister’s understanding of leadership, national unity, and state power.

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