Samson A. Bezabeh, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong. He was previously a Research Fellow at Makerere University, Post-doctoral researcher at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris, and has been affiliated with the University of Bergen, the University of Exeter, and Addis Ababa University.

 Dr. Bezabeh’s research interests include diaspora studies, state- society interaction, colonialism, religion (Islam and Orthodox Christianity) as well as issues of citizenship, ethnicity, and class in Africa. His article, “Citizenship and the Logic of Sovereignty in Djibouti,” published in African Affairs, won the journal’s African Author Prize. 

Dr Bezabeh is the author of “Subjects of Empires /Citizens of States” (Cairo / New York, American University in Cairo Press, 2016), which examines the presence of Yemenis diasporas in the Horn of Africa. His second book, “Djibouti: A Political History “(Lynne Rienner, Colorado, 2023) documents the history of Djibouti since its independence from France in 1977. 

Currently, he has finalized another manuscript, which is under contract, Orthodox Ethiopia: Unsettling Conceptions of Political Transformation (Michigan University Press, Michigan). 

 Dr Bezabeh’ fourth book, tentatively titled as “Meanings from Other worlds: Local Strategies of Political Engagements” is being finalized and is expected to be submitted for publication in 2024. His articles have appeared in various journals, including African Affairs, Cahier D’études Africain and Journal of Muslim Minority Studies. 

New Book Series Podcast - Djibouti: A Political History