Bernhard Thibaut
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198296454
- eISBN:
- 9780191600036
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296452.003.0019
- Subject:
- Political Science, Reference
This chapter on elections and electoral systems in Eritrea follows the same format as all the other country chapters in the book. The first section is introductory and contains a historical overview, ...
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This chapter on elections and electoral systems in Eritrea follows the same format as all the other country chapters in the book. The first section is introductory and contains a historical overview, discussion of the evolution of electoral provisions, an account of the current electoral provisions, and a comment on the electoral statistics. The second section consists of ten tables. These are: 2.1 Dates of National Elections, Referendums, and Coups d’Etat (there have been no national elections or coups d’état); 2.2 Electoral Body 1993 (this resulted from a referendum in 1993; data are given on population size, registered voters, and votes cast); 2.3 Abbreviations (abbreviations and full names of political parties and alliances used in tables 2.6, 2.7, and 2.9); 2.4 Electoral Participation of Parties and Alliances (no elections have been held yet); 2.5 Referendum 1993 (details of registered voters and votes cast); 2.6 Elections for Constitutional Assembly (none held); 2.7 Parliamentary Elections (none held); 2.8 Composition of Parliament (details are given of the current legislative); 2.9 Presidential Elections (direct elections are not held); and 2.10 List of Power Holders 1991–1998.Less
This chapter on elections and electoral systems in Eritrea follows the same format as all the other country chapters in the book. The first section is introductory and contains a historical overview, discussion of the evolution of electoral provisions, an account of the current electoral provisions, and a comment on the electoral statistics. The second section consists of ten tables. These are: 2.1 Dates of National Elections, Referendums, and Coups d’Etat (there have been no national elections or coups d’état); 2.2 Electoral Body 1993 (this resulted from a referendum in 1993; data are given on population size, registered voters, and votes cast); 2.3 Abbreviations (abbreviations and full names of political parties and alliances used in tables 2.6, 2.7, and 2.9); 2.4 Electoral Participation of Parties and Alliances (no elections have been held yet); 2.5 Referendum 1993 (details of registered voters and votes cast); 2.6 Elections for Constitutional Assembly (none held); 2.7 Parliamentary Elections (none held); 2.8 Composition of Parliament (details are given of the current legislative); 2.9 Presidential Elections (direct elections are not held); and 2.10 List of Power Holders 1991–1998.
Bereket Habte Selassie
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199246465
- eISBN:
- 9780191600135
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199246467.003.0013
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
Outlines the historical background, since the Italian colonization of 1890, to the ratification of Eritrea's constitution on 23 May 1997, which marked the end of 30 years of secessional war with ...
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Outlines the historical background, since the Italian colonization of 1890, to the ratification of Eritrea's constitution on 23 May 1997, which marked the end of 30 years of secessional war with Ethiopia. It recounts the work of the Constitutional Commission of Eritrea, appointed in the wake of the referendum of 1993, in devising and establishing constitutional government for an independent Eritrea. It describes the consultative processes employed and the constitutional architecture produced. The chapter concludes with a prognosis for the country's future democratic stability.Less
Outlines the historical background, since the Italian colonization of 1890, to the ratification of Eritrea's constitution on 23 May 1997, which marked the end of 30 years of secessional war with Ethiopia. It recounts the work of the Constitutional Commission of Eritrea, appointed in the wake of the referendum of 1993, in devising and establishing constitutional government for an independent Eritrea. It describes the consultative processes employed and the constitutional architecture produced. The chapter concludes with a prognosis for the country's future democratic stability.
Tony Addison
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199261031
- eISBN:
- 9780191698712
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199261031.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter focuses on five conflict-affected countries in Africa: Angola, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, and Mozambique. It discusses their history and political and economic transitions and ...
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This chapter focuses on five conflict-affected countries in Africa: Angola, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, and Mozambique. It discusses their history and political and economic transitions and then examines their present predicament. The chapter concludes by setting out the different future paths, both good and bad, that might be followed by Africa's other conflict-affected countries.Less
This chapter focuses on five conflict-affected countries in Africa: Angola, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, and Mozambique. It discusses their history and political and economic transitions and then examines their present predicament. The chapter concludes by setting out the different future paths, both good and bad, that might be followed by Africa's other conflict-affected countries.
Gaim Kibreab
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199261031
- eISBN:
- 9780191698712
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199261031.003.0005
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter assesses the resettlement process in Eritrea. It examines the basic features of the process, contrasting those who received help with those who settled themselves without much ...
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This chapter assesses the resettlement process in Eritrea. It examines the basic features of the process, contrasting those who received help with those who settled themselves without much assistance. The chapter then describes the critical role of access to land and common property resources, and discusses the environmental dimensions of resettlement and government land-tenure interventions. It also highlights the central role played by social capital developed during the thirty-year liberation war in easing settlement and then examines the state capacity in the resettlement process. The chapter concludes that resettlement was facilitated by effective public administration, unity of purpose, robust social capital, receptive communities, and a system of property rights that was supportive.Less
This chapter assesses the resettlement process in Eritrea. It examines the basic features of the process, contrasting those who received help with those who settled themselves without much assistance. The chapter then describes the critical role of access to land and common property resources, and discusses the environmental dimensions of resettlement and government land-tenure interventions. It also highlights the central role played by social capital developed during the thirty-year liberation war in easing settlement and then examines the state capacity in the resettlement process. The chapter concludes that resettlement was facilitated by effective public administration, unity of purpose, robust social capital, receptive communities, and a system of property rights that was supportive.
GÖte Hansson
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199261031
- eISBN:
- 9780191698712
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199261031.003.0012
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter focuses on the building of political institutions in Eritrea after formal independence was declared on 1993. It discusses two agendas which the new state faced: first, transforming the ...
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This chapter focuses on the building of political institutions in Eritrea after formal independence was declared on 1993. It discusses two agendas which the new state faced: first, transforming the political apparatus of the national liberation struggle into a set of political institutions suitable to peacetime politics; second, creating the economic strategies and institutions necessary to transform the Derg's economic legacy. Considerable progress was made in the first years of independence but in May 1998 a border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia escalated into a war that continued until the cease-fire of June 2000. This chapter discusses the economic roots of the war as its social and economic impact. It concludes by noting the dangers that the 1998–2000 war poses to the creation of a development state in both Eritrea and Ethiopia.Less
This chapter focuses on the building of political institutions in Eritrea after formal independence was declared on 1993. It discusses two agendas which the new state faced: first, transforming the political apparatus of the national liberation struggle into a set of political institutions suitable to peacetime politics; second, creating the economic strategies and institutions necessary to transform the Derg's economic legacy. Considerable progress was made in the first years of independence but in May 1998 a border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia escalated into a war that continued until the cease-fire of June 2000. This chapter discusses the economic roots of the war as its social and economic impact. It concludes by noting the dangers that the 1998–2000 war poses to the creation of a development state in both Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Richard J. Reid
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199211883
- eISBN:
- 9780191725135
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199211883.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
This book offers a historical analysis of violent conflict in north-east Africa through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The book deals with a broad corridor of conflict incorporating the ...
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This book offers a historical analysis of violent conflict in north-east Africa through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The book deals with a broad corridor of conflict incorporating the Ethiopian and Eritrean highlands and their escarpment and lowland peripheries, stretching between the modern Eritrean Red Sea coast and the southern and eastern borderlands of present-day Ethiopia. Sudanese and Somali frontiers are also examined insofar as they can be related to ethnic, political and religious conflict, and the violent state- and empire-building processes which have defined the region since c.1800. The book argues that this modern warfare is not solely the product of modern political ‘failure’, but rather has its origins in a network of frontier zones which are both violent and creative. Such borderlands have given rise to markedly militarized political cultures, which are rooted in the violence of the nineteenth century and which in recent decades are manifest in authoritarian systems of government. The book thus traces the history of Amhara and Tigrayan imperialisms, to the nationalist and ethnic revolutions which represented the march of volatile borderlands on the hegemonic centre. This book suggests a new interpretation of Ethiopian and Eritrean history, arguing that the key to understanding the region's turbulent present lies in an appreciation of the role of the armed, and politically fertile, frontier in its deeper past.Less
This book offers a historical analysis of violent conflict in north-east Africa through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The book deals with a broad corridor of conflict incorporating the Ethiopian and Eritrean highlands and their escarpment and lowland peripheries, stretching between the modern Eritrean Red Sea coast and the southern and eastern borderlands of present-day Ethiopia. Sudanese and Somali frontiers are also examined insofar as they can be related to ethnic, political and religious conflict, and the violent state- and empire-building processes which have defined the region since c.1800. The book argues that this modern warfare is not solely the product of modern political ‘failure’, but rather has its origins in a network of frontier zones which are both violent and creative. Such borderlands have given rise to markedly militarized political cultures, which are rooted in the violence of the nineteenth century and which in recent decades are manifest in authoritarian systems of government. The book thus traces the history of Amhara and Tigrayan imperialisms, to the nationalist and ethnic revolutions which represented the march of volatile borderlands on the hegemonic centre. This book suggests a new interpretation of Ethiopian and Eritrean history, arguing that the key to understanding the region's turbulent present lies in an appreciation of the role of the armed, and politically fertile, frontier in its deeper past.
Howard M. Holtzmann and Edda Kristjánsdóttir (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199207442
- eISBN:
- 9780191708695
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199207442.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Private International Law
This book analyzes a significant procedural innovation in international law — the development of mass claims processes. Mass claims processes have become increasingly important phenomena in ...
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This book analyzes a significant procedural innovation in international law — the development of mass claims processes. Mass claims processes have become increasingly important phenomena in international dispute resolution. This is the first book to provide comprehensive information for a systematic comparison and analysis of the legal issues and practical matters involved in their establishment and operation. This book considers eleven of the highest profile modern mass claims tribunals and commissions created to redress large-scale losses. These include processes resolving claims arising from the Iranian Revolution, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the Holocaust, and conflicts in the Former Yugoslavia and between Eritrea and Ethiopia. The book identifies and focuses on forty-seven basic issues that experience shows typically arise with respect to international mass claims processes, offering descriptions and commentary on the ways in which the various processes have approached each issue. Much of the information gathered in this book is not publicly available elsewhere and is based on the knowledge and experience of the 25 members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration's Steering Committee on mass claims processes, experts who have either served on the processes or otherwise been directly engaged in their activities.Less
This book analyzes a significant procedural innovation in international law — the development of mass claims processes. Mass claims processes have become increasingly important phenomena in international dispute resolution. This is the first book to provide comprehensive information for a systematic comparison and analysis of the legal issues and practical matters involved in their establishment and operation. This book considers eleven of the highest profile modern mass claims tribunals and commissions created to redress large-scale losses. These include processes resolving claims arising from the Iranian Revolution, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the Holocaust, and conflicts in the Former Yugoslavia and between Eritrea and Ethiopia. The book identifies and focuses on forty-seven basic issues that experience shows typically arise with respect to international mass claims processes, offering descriptions and commentary on the ways in which the various processes have approached each issue. Much of the information gathered in this book is not publicly available elsewhere and is based on the knowledge and experience of the 25 members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration's Steering Committee on mass claims processes, experts who have either served on the processes or otherwise been directly engaged in their activities.
Richard J. Reid
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199211883
- eISBN:
- 9780191725135
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199211883.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
This introductory chapter sets the scene in the present day, describing the historical interconnectedness of a range of contemporary conflict across and between Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia. The ...
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This introductory chapter sets the scene in the present day, describing the historical interconnectedness of a range of contemporary conflict across and between Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia. The Prologue introduces the idea that these conflicts have complex genealogies of some antiquity. It outlines the key themes to be pursued in the book—including the significance of militarism and the role of violent fault lines—and summarises the main ethnic and political actors at the heart of the narrative, as well as the book's geographical focus.Less
This introductory chapter sets the scene in the present day, describing the historical interconnectedness of a range of contemporary conflict across and between Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia. The Prologue introduces the idea that these conflicts have complex genealogies of some antiquity. It outlines the key themes to be pursued in the book—including the significance of militarism and the role of violent fault lines—and summarises the main ethnic and political actors at the heart of the narrative, as well as the book's geographical focus.
Richard J. Reid
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199211883
- eISBN:
- 9780191725135
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199211883.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
This chapter explores the nature and significance of the period of European colonial rule in the region, encompassing the Italian administration of Eritrea and Somalia, and the British Military ...
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This chapter explores the nature and significance of the period of European colonial rule in the region, encompassing the Italian administration of Eritrea and Somalia, and the British Military Administration in Eritrea. The tangible impact of European colonialism is examined, notably in terms of the hardening of perceived divisions and increasingly militarized identities; of particular importance is the impact of Italian rule in Eritrea in exacerbating extant ‘trans-Mereb’ patterns of violence and resistance, and creating certain new ones. Equally, the role of the British Military Administration (BMA) was important in creating conditions whereby identities might be more forcefully articulated than had been the case previously. Yet in many respects European colonial rule was co-opted into extant patterns of regional conflict. Alongside the shifta insurgency in Eritrea in the 1940s and the emergence of competing nationalisms, pro-independence and unionist, there is also discussion of the Somali ‘question’, and in particular of the Ogaden.Less
This chapter explores the nature and significance of the period of European colonial rule in the region, encompassing the Italian administration of Eritrea and Somalia, and the British Military Administration in Eritrea. The tangible impact of European colonialism is examined, notably in terms of the hardening of perceived divisions and increasingly militarized identities; of particular importance is the impact of Italian rule in Eritrea in exacerbating extant ‘trans-Mereb’ patterns of violence and resistance, and creating certain new ones. Equally, the role of the British Military Administration (BMA) was important in creating conditions whereby identities might be more forcefully articulated than had been the case previously. Yet in many respects European colonial rule was co-opted into extant patterns of regional conflict. Alongside the shifta insurgency in Eritrea in the 1940s and the emergence of competing nationalisms, pro-independence and unionist, there is also discussion of the Somali ‘question’, and in particular of the Ogaden.
Richard J. Reid
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199211883
- eISBN:
- 9780191725135
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199211883.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
This chapter places emphasis on the legacy of violent liberation war in both Ethiopia and Eritrea since the early 1990s. The chapter is concerned with the institutionalization of violence in the ...
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This chapter places emphasis on the legacy of violent liberation war in both Ethiopia and Eritrea since the early 1990s. The chapter is concerned with the institutionalization of violence in the modern states of the region, manifest in the successor movements to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF)in Ethiopia and the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF)in Eritrea. The authoritarianism of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, and the ongoing utility of ethnicity as organizational tool, is explored, as is the militarism at the heart of Eritrea as a ‘frontier state’. Continuing conflict, most dramatically in terms of Oromo nationalist violence, wars in Somalia and their regional implications, and the recent war between Eritrea and Ethiopia, is examined in terms of both historical pattern and carefully crafted notions of destiny.Less
This chapter places emphasis on the legacy of violent liberation war in both Ethiopia and Eritrea since the early 1990s. The chapter is concerned with the institutionalization of violence in the modern states of the region, manifest in the successor movements to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF)in Ethiopia and the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF)in Eritrea. The authoritarianism of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, and the ongoing utility of ethnicity as organizational tool, is explored, as is the militarism at the heart of Eritrea as a ‘frontier state’. Continuing conflict, most dramatically in terms of Oromo nationalist violence, wars in Somalia and their regional implications, and the recent war between Eritrea and Ethiopia, is examined in terms of both historical pattern and carefully crafted notions of destiny.
Assefaw Tekeste Ghebrekidan
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195310276
- eISBN:
- 9780199865369
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195310276.003.01
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
This chapter presents an account of the plight of the people living in the Sahel, one of Eritrea's most inaccessible regions. It describes the devastation wrought by thirty years of war. It recounts ...
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This chapter presents an account of the plight of the people living in the Sahel, one of Eritrea's most inaccessible regions. It describes the devastation wrought by thirty years of war. It recounts experiences serving as a medical cadre among the pastoralist communities, particularly describes the impromptu cooperation between a liberation front and a marginalized population totally unaware of politics.Less
This chapter presents an account of the plight of the people living in the Sahel, one of Eritrea's most inaccessible regions. It describes the devastation wrought by thirty years of war. It recounts experiences serving as a medical cadre among the pastoralist communities, particularly describes the impromptu cooperation between a liberation front and a marginalized population totally unaware of politics.
Gebru Tareke
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300141634
- eISBN:
- 9780300156157
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300141634.003.0010
- Subject:
- History, Military History
After its decisive victory in the battle of Af Abet in 1988, it would take almost two years before the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (ELPF) would launch another strategic offensive against the ...
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After its decisive victory in the battle of Af Abet in 1988, it would take almost two years before the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (ELPF) would launch another strategic offensive against the Ethiopian military. In 1990, it captured the city and port of Massawa—its second most important victory. Fired up by their string of victories, the EPLF and Tigray People's Liberation Front vanquished a depleted an evidently demoralized army. Shire opened the way to southern Ethiopia and put the pressure on the Second Revolutionary Army in Eritrea. Meanwhile, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front dealt a blow to the Third Revolutionary Army at Dabre Tabor and headed to the Abay gorge that separates northern and southern Ethiopia. It was there in Massawa that the revolutionary army met its end and the civil wars were consummated.Less
After its decisive victory in the battle of Af Abet in 1988, it would take almost two years before the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (ELPF) would launch another strategic offensive against the Ethiopian military. In 1990, it captured the city and port of Massawa—its second most important victory. Fired up by their string of victories, the EPLF and Tigray People's Liberation Front vanquished a depleted an evidently demoralized army. Shire opened the way to southern Ethiopia and put the pressure on the Second Revolutionary Army in Eritrea. Meanwhile, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front dealt a blow to the Third Revolutionary Army at Dabre Tabor and headed to the Abay gorge that separates northern and southern Ethiopia. It was there in Massawa that the revolutionary army met its end and the civil wars were consummated.
Gebru Tareke
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300141634
- eISBN:
- 9780300156157
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300141634.003.0012
- Subject:
- History, Military History
Eritrea seceded from Ethiopia in 1991 and became a sovereign state in 1993. In 1997, relations between the new governments in Addis Ababa and Asmara began to deteriorate. One year later, the ...
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Eritrea seceded from Ethiopia in 1991 and became a sovereign state in 1993. In 1997, relations between the new governments in Addis Ababa and Asmara began to deteriorate. One year later, the Eritreans, led by President Isaias Afewerki, sent their tanks and artillery across the border, claiming that they were attacked first. Ostensibly, the cause of the rift was a territorial dispute involving Badme, situated on the western side of the frontier. The Eritrean-Ethiopian war would last until 2000, yet eight years after a negotiated end of hostilities, peace remains elusive despite the presence of the United Nations Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea in the sixteen-mile corridor inside Eritrea. The Comprehensive Algiers Peace Agreement has also remained largely ineffective.Less
Eritrea seceded from Ethiopia in 1991 and became a sovereign state in 1993. In 1997, relations between the new governments in Addis Ababa and Asmara began to deteriorate. One year later, the Eritreans, led by President Isaias Afewerki, sent their tanks and artillery across the border, claiming that they were attacked first. Ostensibly, the cause of the rift was a territorial dispute involving Badme, situated on the western side of the frontier. The Eritrean-Ethiopian war would last until 2000, yet eight years after a negotiated end of hostilities, peace remains elusive despite the presence of the United Nations Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea in the sixteen-mile corridor inside Eritrea. The Comprehensive Algiers Peace Agreement has also remained largely ineffective.
Gebru Tareke
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300141634
- eISBN:
- 9780300156157
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300141634.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Military History
Historically, Ethiopia was comprised of a relatively restricted space that today encompasses most of Tigray and much of Eritrea. Trouble began in the fourteenth century A.D. when the king residing in ...
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Historically, Ethiopia was comprised of a relatively restricted space that today encompasses most of Tigray and much of Eritrea. Trouble began in the fourteenth century A.D. when the king residing in Gondar divided the region into two parts for administrative purposes, with the Merab River serving as the line of demarcation. The roots of the Eritrean conflict can be traced to 1890, when the Italians colonized the northern province, including the coastal lowlands, and called it Eritrea. In 1941, the British took over the Italians, during which Eritrean political parties with conflicting agendas or visions proliferated. This chapter examines the rise of Eritrean nationalism and insurgency that threw Ethiopia into years of anarchy and set the stage for one of the longest-lasting armed conflicts on the African continent, culminating in the Ethiopian Revolution. It looks at the emergence of various insurgency groups such as the Eritrean Liberation Movement, the Eritrean Liberation Front, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front, and the Eritrean People's Revolutionary Party.Less
Historically, Ethiopia was comprised of a relatively restricted space that today encompasses most of Tigray and much of Eritrea. Trouble began in the fourteenth century A.D. when the king residing in Gondar divided the region into two parts for administrative purposes, with the Merab River serving as the line of demarcation. The roots of the Eritrean conflict can be traced to 1890, when the Italians colonized the northern province, including the coastal lowlands, and called it Eritrea. In 1941, the British took over the Italians, during which Eritrean political parties with conflicting agendas or visions proliferated. This chapter examines the rise of Eritrean nationalism and insurgency that threw Ethiopia into years of anarchy and set the stage for one of the longest-lasting armed conflicts on the African continent, culminating in the Ethiopian Revolution. It looks at the emergence of various insurgency groups such as the Eritrean Liberation Movement, the Eritrean Liberation Front, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front, and the Eritrean People's Revolutionary Party.
Gebru Tareke
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300141634
- eISBN:
- 9780300156157
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300141634.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Military History
Ethiopian ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam demonized his Eritrean opponents as foreign agents or mercenaries and accused Tigrayan dissidents of being unpatriotic. He argued that the historical ...
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Ethiopian ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam demonized his Eritrean opponents as foreign agents or mercenaries and accused Tigrayan dissidents of being unpatriotic. He argued that the historical interregional, interfeudal, interdynastic, interclass struggles for power and for control of the peasantry's labor and meager surplus were all anti-Ethiopianism. Mengistu made these claims despite Gabre Hiwet Baykedagn's affirmation of Tigrayan patriotism and pronouncement that no other people cared more for Ethiopia's welfare and safety than the Tigrayans. Tigray had been an economic backwater in the empire-state since 1890, when Eritrea was colonized by Italy, to the outbreak of the Ethiopian Revolution in 1974. This chapter examines the emergence of Tigrayan ethnonationalism and insurgency as well as the rise of the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front.Less
Ethiopian ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam demonized his Eritrean opponents as foreign agents or mercenaries and accused Tigrayan dissidents of being unpatriotic. He argued that the historical interregional, interfeudal, interdynastic, interclass struggles for power and for control of the peasantry's labor and meager surplus were all anti-Ethiopianism. Mengistu made these claims despite Gabre Hiwet Baykedagn's affirmation of Tigrayan patriotism and pronouncement that no other people cared more for Ethiopia's welfare and safety than the Tigrayans. Tigray had been an economic backwater in the empire-state since 1890, when Eritrea was colonized by Italy, to the outbreak of the Ethiopian Revolution in 1974. This chapter examines the emergence of Tigrayan ethnonationalism and insurgency as well as the rise of the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front.
Gebru Tareke
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300141634
- eISBN:
- 9780300156157
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300141634.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Military History
Ethiopia's revolutionary army lost the war to the Eritrean insurgents not because they lacked men and weaponry. To understand better why the soldiers of Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam lost ...
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Ethiopia's revolutionary army lost the war to the Eritrean insurgents not because they lacked men and weaponry. To understand better why the soldiers of Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam lost in the fight against insurgency, three interrelated issues need to be considered. First we need to consider the army's contentious relationship with the Workers' Party of Ethiopia (WPE), which undermined troop unity and effective control by introducing the triangular command. The second issue concerns government economic policies and political structures, which may not have strengthened the insurgents but clearly weakened the state. The third issue was the military's serious internal weaknesses that made it extremely vulnerable to the insurgents of Eritrea.Less
Ethiopia's revolutionary army lost the war to the Eritrean insurgents not because they lacked men and weaponry. To understand better why the soldiers of Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam lost in the fight against insurgency, three interrelated issues need to be considered. First we need to consider the army's contentious relationship with the Workers' Party of Ethiopia (WPE), which undermined troop unity and effective control by introducing the triangular command. The second issue concerns government economic policies and political structures, which may not have strengthened the insurgents but clearly weakened the state. The third issue was the military's serious internal weaknesses that made it extremely vulnerable to the insurgents of Eritrea.
Gebru Tareke
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300141634
- eISBN:
- 9780300156157
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300141634.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, Military History
After defeating Somalia, civil wars swept through Ethiopia in 1980. The government launched major offensives against the “eastern irredentists” and “northern secessionists” in 1980 and 1982, ...
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After defeating Somalia, civil wars swept through Ethiopia in 1980. The government launched major offensives against the “eastern irredentists” and “northern secessionists” in 1980 and 1982, respectively. While Operation Lash essentially achieved its objective of quashing the eastern rebellion, Operation Red Star failed in its bid to put an end to the Eritrean insurgency despite the state's mobilization of the bulk of its armed forces and resources to storm Nakfa, the hub of the insurgents. This chapter focuses on Operation Lash and Operation Red Star as part of the Ethiopian government's counterinsurgency strategy in Nakfa. It examines the government's introduction of the so-called villagization to isolate and destroy the rebels and at the same time resettle displaced peasants. It shows how miscalculation led to the failure of the military campaign in Eritrea.Less
After defeating Somalia, civil wars swept through Ethiopia in 1980. The government launched major offensives against the “eastern irredentists” and “northern secessionists” in 1980 and 1982, respectively. While Operation Lash essentially achieved its objective of quashing the eastern rebellion, Operation Red Star failed in its bid to put an end to the Eritrean insurgency despite the state's mobilization of the bulk of its armed forces and resources to storm Nakfa, the hub of the insurgents. This chapter focuses on Operation Lash and Operation Red Star as part of the Ethiopian government's counterinsurgency strategy in Nakfa. It examines the government's introduction of the so-called villagization to isolate and destroy the rebels and at the same time resettle displaced peasants. It shows how miscalculation led to the failure of the military campaign in Eritrea.
Gebru Tareke
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300141634
- eISBN:
- 9780300156157
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300141634.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, Military History
After years of engaging the Ethiopian military in a bitter war, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) secured a resounding victory on March 19, 1988, at Af Abet. On that day, the rebels ...
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After years of engaging the Ethiopian military in a bitter war, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) secured a resounding victory on March 19, 1988, at Af Abet. On that day, the rebels destroyed the most formidable garrison in northern Eritrea, setting off a series of events that would lead to total victory three years later. Aside from their cunning and ingenuity, the rebels took advantage of a long-simmering crisis in the Ethiopian army. While the battle of Nakfa ensured the continuity of the nationalist struggle, Af Abet severely degraded the military's ability to wage war against insurgency, resulting in the demise of the dictatorship and concomitant Eritrean independence. The end came for the Ethiopian military in 1990 at Massawa, the third most crucial battle between government forces and the Eritrean insurgents.Less
After years of engaging the Ethiopian military in a bitter war, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) secured a resounding victory on March 19, 1988, at Af Abet. On that day, the rebels destroyed the most formidable garrison in northern Eritrea, setting off a series of events that would lead to total victory three years later. Aside from their cunning and ingenuity, the rebels took advantage of a long-simmering crisis in the Ethiopian army. While the battle of Nakfa ensured the continuity of the nationalist struggle, Af Abet severely degraded the military's ability to wage war against insurgency, resulting in the demise of the dictatorship and concomitant Eritrean independence. The end came for the Ethiopian military in 1990 at Massawa, the third most crucial battle between government forces and the Eritrean insurgents.
Sabina Donati (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804784511
- eISBN:
- 9780804787338
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804784511.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter provides a comprehensive account of the citizenship policies that were introduced during the liberal decades by an expanding colonial Italy vis-à-vis the native populations in Eritrea, ...
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This chapter provides a comprehensive account of the citizenship policies that were introduced during the liberal decades by an expanding colonial Italy vis-à-vis the native populations in Eritrea, Somalia, Libya and the Aegean Islands. In this way the still relatively unknown citizenship issues of occupied Dodecanese are fully discussed for the first time with the citizenship situation of Italy’s African subjects, on which there is already a substantial literature. Drawing on official discourse and current scholarship pertaining to colonial subjecthood, the chapter also explores the liberal variant of notions of “civilization” and “race” as they were extended from the peninsula to the African natives. It brings to light the historical reference of the “myth of Rome” as it was evoked in the citizenship debates about Eritreans, Somalis and Libyans as well as the historical paradigm of the “maritime Republics” suggested in discussions about the Dodecanesini.Less
This chapter provides a comprehensive account of the citizenship policies that were introduced during the liberal decades by an expanding colonial Italy vis-à-vis the native populations in Eritrea, Somalia, Libya and the Aegean Islands. In this way the still relatively unknown citizenship issues of occupied Dodecanese are fully discussed for the first time with the citizenship situation of Italy’s African subjects, on which there is already a substantial literature. Drawing on official discourse and current scholarship pertaining to colonial subjecthood, the chapter also explores the liberal variant of notions of “civilization” and “race” as they were extended from the peninsula to the African natives. It brings to light the historical reference of the “myth of Rome” as it was evoked in the citizenship debates about Eritreans, Somalis and Libyans as well as the historical paradigm of the “maritime Republics” suggested in discussions about the Dodecanesini.
Andrew Stewart
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780300208559
- eISBN:
- 9780300222203
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300208559.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, Military History
This concluding chapter discusses how the campaign in East Africa was a great success both for the British and Commonwealth forces and the commanders who led them. A massive pincer movement through ...
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This concluding chapter discusses how the campaign in East Africa was a great success both for the British and Commonwealth forces and the commanders who led them. A massive pincer movement through Italian Somaliland and Ethiopia converged with another that had advanced through Eritrea, and ended with a final series of assaults against a remote Italian mountain fortress. With a speed and comprehensiveness that was not foreseen in the original plan, an eventually significant victory came about gradually through the development of events and the overwhelming of a confused and progressively shattered opponent. This was the unanimous view of the small number of published eyewitness accounts where it was described as a military masterpiece of its time, whilst another conclusion stated that the campaign would go down in military history as a classic.Less
This concluding chapter discusses how the campaign in East Africa was a great success both for the British and Commonwealth forces and the commanders who led them. A massive pincer movement through Italian Somaliland and Ethiopia converged with another that had advanced through Eritrea, and ended with a final series of assaults against a remote Italian mountain fortress. With a speed and comprehensiveness that was not foreseen in the original plan, an eventually significant victory came about gradually through the development of events and the overwhelming of a confused and progressively shattered opponent. This was the unanimous view of the small number of published eyewitness accounts where it was described as a military masterpiece of its time, whilst another conclusion stated that the campaign would go down in military history as a classic.
