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The report analyses the 'memory wars' in Ethiopia, where political elites use 'invented traditions' and memorialisation to advance competing ideological agendas. It identifies three primary approaches to collective memory: the rejectionist approach, which seeks to deconstruct the 'great tradition' of the Ethiopian state; the revivalist approach, which seeks to restore it; and the moderationist approach, which attempts a selective balance. These approaches operate across four layers of tradition: the pre-1991 great tradition, the post-1991 federal vernacular tradition, regional traditions, and local-level traditions. The author argues that the contradictions between these approaches and the lack of a negotiated, shared collective memory have reinforced political instability and armed conflict.

The document analyzes the emergence of the 'pirogue route' from West Africa to the Canary Islands as a response to increased border security in the Strait of Gibraltar. Through fieldwork in Senegal, the author argues that migrants' decisions to undertake these perilous journeys are not based on misinformation, but are rationalized through a complex interplay of socio-economic vulnerability, cultural notions of manhood, religious beliefs regarding destiny, and a perception that remaining in Senegal constitutes a greater risk than the journey itself. The paper concludes that restrictive border measures, such as patrolling and repatriation, are often ineffective or counter-productive, as they may drive migrants toward even longer and more dangerous routes.