The Horn of Africa; The Silent Battlefield; Examining the Role of Regional and International Powers in the Geopolitical Crises of Ethiopia and Sudan

Rasouli, Majid; Binaian, Abazar

Volume 15, Issue 4 (Quarterly Journal of Political Research in the Islamic World, Winter 2026 2025) پژوهشهاي سياسي جهان اسلام 2025, 15(4): 91-122 | Back to browse issues page

Mendeley

Zotero

RefWorks

Rasouli M, Binaian A. The Horn of Africa; The Silent Battlefield; Examining the Role of Regional and International Powers in the Geopolitical Crises of Ethiopia and Sudan. پژوهشهاي سياسي جهان اسلام 2025; 15 (4) :91-122
URL: http://priw.ir/article-1-2046-en.html

The Horn of Africa; The Silent Battlefield; Examining the Role of Regional and International Powers in the Geopolitical Crises of Ethiopia and Sudan

Majid Rasouli ^*¹

, Abazar Binaian²

1- Assistant Professor, Department of Geopolitics, Center for African Studies, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran. , m.rasouli@modares.ac.ir
2- PhD, Department of Political Geography, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract: (162 Views)

The Horn of Africa has been defined as a focal point for the convergence of interests between regional powers (Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia) and international actors (Russia and the West). The ongoing crisis in Sudan, characterized by civil war and the collapse of state institutions, poses a serious threat to Ethiopia's regional stability in terms of border security (Fashqa) and management of vital resources (Grand Renaissance Dam).This article aims to analyze the complex geopolitical dynamics prevailing in the Horn of Africa, with a special focus on the geopolitical crises of Sudan and Ethiopia, and seeks to answer the question of what is the role of regional and international powers in the geopolitical crises of Ethiopia and Sudan, and what is the proposed solution to overcome this crisis?This article uses a descriptive-analytical method to achieve this goal. Therefore, the findings of the study show that external interventions have transformed internal conflicts into a geopolitical proxy competition. Meanwhile, Russia, while focusing on its strategic role, relying on military and historical relations with Ethiopia and pursuing the goals of maritime access in the Red Sea, indirectly benefits from Sudan's instability in order to advance its grand agenda of reducing Western influence.The research results show that until a regional security consensus is achieved, which limits external interventions within transparent and accountable frameworks, the Horn of Africa will remain in a state of strategic instability and will face structural obstacles to resolving fundamental conflicts.

Keywords: Geopolitics, regional and international power competition, Horn of Africa, Sudan and Ethiopia.

Full-Text [PDF 544 kb] (71 Downloads)

Type of Study: Research | Subject: Special
Received: 2026/02/9 | Accepted: 2026/04/23 | Published: 2025/12/22