Ethiopia’s Quest for Sovereign Sea Access: Historical and Geopolitical Contexts

Year 2025, Volume: 17 Issue: 1, 149 - 168, 31.10.2025

Gizachew Asrat , Gashaw Ayferam Endaylalu

https://doi.org/10.47932/ortetut.1783598

Abstract

Ethiopia’s quest for sovereign sea access stems from its historical, legal, psychological, and geographical connections to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Although Ethiopians have never psychologically accepted their landlocked condition, the EPRDF regime (1991–2018) formally recognized it and treated ports primarily as commercial commodities rather than existential-cum-geopolitical assets. Since the 2018 political reform, maritime access has re-emerged as a central element of state policy under the incumbent government. Drawing on qualitative analysis of public and policy debates in which the authors participated as speakers, policy documents, and secondary sources, this study argues that Ethiopia’s pursuit of sovereign sea access represents a national struggle to reclaim its historical and rightful place on the geopolitical map of the Red Sea–Gulf of Aden. The maritime aspiration is deeply rooted in historical use, legal and natural rights, socio-cultural and psychological connections and driven by geopolitical necessity—to overcome landlockedness, reduce dependency, and extend Ethiopia’s presence beyond its borders through naval force. The study finds that Ethiopia’s maritime access strategy is shaped by both internal imperatives and external regional dynamics, including competitive port development, military build-ups, and maritime insecurity. The study implies that achieving permanent, reliable, and sustainable sea access requires a context-driven diplomacy that links the maritime agenda to regional peace and security, economic integration, and the aspirations of the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Furthermore, a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, grounded in national unity, is essential to realize Ethiopia’s maritime aspiration.

Keywords

Ethiopia , Access to the Sea , Red Sea , Geopolitics , Landlockedness

Thanks

Thank for our friends for their input during the discussions. And also, the reviewers of this article and journal owner institutions and individuals for their time and knowledge.

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