Dr Adem Kassie Abebe has been an extraordinary lecturer at the University of Pretoria (UP) since 2014, and was a researcher at the University between 2009 and 2013. He completed his undergraduate studies at Jimma University in Ethiopia.

Dr Abebe regularly contributes to political and legal debates on constitutional law, democratisation, human rights and African Union-related issues.

He says he does research at UP because the Centre for Human Rights and the Faculty of Law are the leading centres of excellence in comparative constitutional and human rights studies. His research contributes to the betterment of the world, he says, because it shares new ideas, and systematically presents and synthesises existing knowledge.

Dr Abebe adds that his research efforts were inspired by the drafting of the 2010 Kenyan Constitution, notably its combination of elite consensus and popular participation, and the prominent role of the South African Constitutional Court in protecting South Africa’s democracy.

Over the past 18 months, Dr Abebe has developed new research fields on the empowerment of opposition groups in constitutional democracies, winner-takes-all politics, and democratic stability, progress and regression.

As a recent highlight, he refers to his admission in the Supreme Court of Kenya as an expert amicus curiae (a person that is permitted by the court to advise it in respect to a matter of law) in the prominent BBI case on the constitutionality of constitutional amendments.

Some of his recent milestones include the publication of book chapters, such as one on horizontal compliance with the African Court on Human and People’s Rights. He is also the author of prominent opinion pieces in The Conversation, Foreign Policy and Al Jazeera

Dr Abebe singles out Professor Frans Viljoen, Director of the Centre for Human Rights and a professor of international human rights law, as a role model. “He is a kind man who has integrity and is a model of exemplary hard work; he is also a dedicated mentor to countless scholars and practitioners.”

Dr Abebe hopes to contribute to and set agendas on policy, constitutional making and judicial debates, particularly in a manner that promotes democratic progress, resilience and stability.

His research matters, he says, because legitimate and appropriate constitutional frameworks are critical for political stability; the protection of human rights, rule of law and democracy; and are enablers of socioeconomic progress. Bad constitutional frameworks and lack of constitutionalism breed instability, suppress growth and cause human suffering, he adds.

His advice to learners and undergraduate students who are interested in his field of research is to look to broader systematic issues rather than simply at the symptoms of socioeconomic, political and constitutional systems.

In his spare time, Dr Abebe enjoys spending time with his children, socialising with friends and reading material that is outside his field, especially on subjects like behavioural science, social psychology and biology.