Fisseha Fantahun Tefera

About Fisseha Fantahun Tefera

I am currently a researcher at the School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, working on a project that examines how diaspora communities engage with the restitution of looted heritage. I focus on the Ethiopian diaspora and how questions of identity, historical injustice, and memory are expressed through debates about cultural objects and their return.

I completed my PhD in Peace and Development Research at the University of Gothenburg in 2024. My doctoral research explored how famines are remembered—or overlooked—in transitional justice processes and official commemorations in different African countries that have experienced major famines in the postcolonial period. The study looked at why famines, despite their devastating impact, remain largely excluded from legal accountability and state-led memory work.

Before my PhD, I completed an MSc in Development Studies (majoring in Political Science) from Lund University and a BA in Political Science and International Relations from Addis Ababa University.

Academic interests

• Political violence
• Famines
• Memory politics, commemoration
• Accountability, justice, transitional justice
• Politics of development
• Ethiopia/Africa

Current and earlier research projects

People, places and plunder: Diasporas and the restitution of looted heritage (2025-2028)

Famines as mass-atrocities: Reconsidering violence, memory and justice in relation to hunger (2019-2024)

Teaching

I have given lectures on topics such as famines, disasters, memory, and heritage politics. I have served as an instructor and convener for courses in international relations and global studies. I have also supervised BA theses in global studies.

Courses I have contributed to include:

• Famines and Hunger: Understanding Causes, Consequences, and Responses
• The Global Politics of Heritage
• Global Studies: Thematic Issues
• Problems and Issues in International Relations
• Introduction to International Relations