Bringing together original, contemporary ethnographic research on the Northeast African state of Eritrea, this book shows how biopolitics - the state-led deployment of disciplinary technologies on individuals and population groups - is assuming particular forms in the twenty-first century. Once hailed as the “African country that works,” Eritrea’s apparently successful post-independence development has since lapsed into economic crisis and severe human rights violations. This is due not only to the border war with Ethiopia that began in 1998, but is also the result of discernible tendencies in the “high modernist” style of social mobilization for development first adopted by the Eritrean government during the liberation struggle (1961–1991) and later carried into the post-independence era. The contributions to this volume reveal and interpret the links between development and developmentalist ideologies, intensifying militarism, and the controlling and disciplining of human lives and bodies by state institutions, policies, and discourses. Also assessed are the multiple consequences of these policies for the Eritrean people and the ways in which such policies are resisted or subverted. This insightful, comparative volume places the Eritrean case in a broader global and transnational context.
Eritrea is located in northeast Africa on the Red Sea coast and boasts one of the oldest human settlements in the region. One-million-year-old human remains have been found in the Danakil Depression in the country, which is home to one of the oldest-written scripts in sub-Saharan Africa: Ge'ez. Eritrea was also pioneer in multi-party democracy in Africa and had a democratic constitution based on United Nations principles in 1952. But it is also home to one of the earliest armed liberation movements in Africa - a conflict that Mohamed Kheir Omer witnessed firsthand, having grown up in Eritrea as a member of the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF). In this book, he traces the history of the country, exploring how ethnicity, religion, geography, colonialism, and other factors have shaped its fate - and what must be done to ensure its people enjoy a brighter future. The history of Eritrea is similar to others on the continent, and its people continue to struggle to build a just, democratic, and inclusive country.
“Contemporary history on a grand scale . . . Wrong has given us another essential contribution to understanding the postcolonial scramble for Africa.” —John le Carré, #1 New York Times–bestselling author Scarred by decades of conflict and occupation, the craggy African nation of Eritrea has weathered the world’s longest-running guerrilla war. The dogged determination that secured victory against Ethiopia, its giant neighbor, is woven into the national psyche, the product of cynical foreign interventions. Fascist Italy wanted Eritrea as the springboard for a new, racially pure Roman empire; Britain sold off its industry for scrap; the United States needed a base for its state-of-the-art spy station; and the Soviet Union used it as a pawn in a proxy war. In I Didn’t Do It for You, Michela Wrong reveals the breathtaking abuses this tiny nation has suffered and, with a sharp eye for detail and a taste for the incongruous, tells the story of colonialism itself and how international power politics can play havoc with a country’s destiny. “Vivid, penetrating, wonderfully detailed. Michela Wrong has written the biography of a nation and more—she has excavated the very heart and soul of the Eritrean people and their country.” —Aminatta Forna, author of The Devil That Danced on Water “Engrossing, vividly written in the style of the best thrillers . . . I’ve read nothing that’s told me as much about either Eritrea or Ethiopia. It should become that standard work on the region.” —Anthony Sampson, author of Mandela: The Authorized Biography “Wrong excels as a storyteller, providing evocative descriptions of Eritrea’s dramatic topography and gripping dollops of military history.” —The Washington Post
I congratulate Andebrhan Welde Giorgis on his high quality and extremely informative book that has not only the merit to be an update on the political situation in Eritrea but also asks the pertinent questions on the future of his marvelous country. He does it with tact and success, based on his long experience as freedom fighter, as senior public servant, as Ambassador and his rich experience of Africa. Each country in Africa must be able to determine its own future. Freedom, responsibility, control over its destiny, and solidarity, are the key ideas of the new vision for international cooperation that will help ensure the sustainability of the development process. The urgent need to create a democratic government resonates throughout the book. Good governance, respect for human rights, principles of democracy, and rule of law are essential universal values underpinning it. Andebrhan is one of those men, visionaries, and open to dialogue, reform and change. Eritrea at a Crossroads is key to understanding the challenges facing Eritrea and Africa. It is an eye opener on a complex and little understood crisis that is festering in Africa and holding the continent back. The book provides a solid intellectual foundation to understanding the region and will give anyone who wants to build a better future for Africa a great starting point. I congratulate him on this most valuable book which finds its place among all the lovers of Africa. Louis Michel Member of European Parliament, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid (2004-2009) and Foreign Minister of Belgium (1999-2004) Freedom fighter, scholar, central banker, diplomat, and now unhappy exile, no-one could be better placed than Andebrhan Welde Giorgis to trace Eritrea's distressing slide from triumph to tragedy. It's a harrowing story, but the author tells it comprehensively, objectively and lucidly in this excellent study. The future can be rescued, as Andebrhan makes clear, but only if the past is understood, and the present confronted -- by decent, concerned Eritreans, acting with the moral, political and economic support of the wider international community. May his voice be heard. Gareth Evans Chancellor, Australian National University; President, International Crisis Group (2000-09) and Foreign Minister of Australia (1988-96)
Methodology -- Recommendations -- Part 1 : background -- Part 2 : human rights violations -- Part 3 : the experience of Eritrean refugees -- Part 4 : Eritrea's legal obligations -- Part 5 : Responding to Eritrea's crisis.
This work traces the Eritrean response to,Ethiopian occupation of their land and the origins,of the war. The book provides a survey of Eritrean,history, with a special inside look at the,military and other developments in the last two,decades. Completely updated and revised to provide,readers with an insight into developments in the,last five years.
The history of Eritrea is told in this reference through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and over 500 cross-referenced dictionary entries on significant persons, events, places, organizations, and other aspects of Eritrea's history from the earliest times to the present. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Eritrea.