Viewing the territorial reach of the Ethiopian state through the lens of social protection

A drive of little more than an hour from the eastern edge of Tigray into Afar serves to illustrate some of the many extremes of Ethiopia: a drop in altitude of more than 1,000m; an increase in temperature from the moderate (albeit far from Mancunian!) temperatures of the highlands to the unforgiving heat of the Rift Valley; and, the focus of this blog, a transformation of the form and reach of the state.