Beyond the siege state – tracing hybridity during a recent visit to Eritrea

Abstract

This article offers an alternative reading of the current situation in Eritrea that goes beyond the narrative of dictatorship and oppression. Based on recent fieldwork in Eritrea and among Eritrean refugees in Tel Aviv, it offers a hybrid interpretation of developments within Eritrea. The article argues that a transition process instigated by the current leadership is still possible. At the same time rising inequalities and other dynamics may ultimately jeopardise any such transition. More generally important sections of the population have become suspicious of grand political projects, but rather focus on the microcosms of potentially intangible transformations from within.[Au de-là de l'état de siège -retracer le contexte pragmatique tel constaté lors d'une récente visite en É rythrée.] Cet article propose une lecture alternative de la situation actuelle en É rythrée qui va au-delà du récit de la dictature et de l'oppression. Basé sur des travaux récents en É rythrée et parmi les réfugiés érythréens à Tel Aviv, il offre une interprétation mitigée des développements au sein de l'É rythrée. L'article fait valoir que le processus de transition initié par la direction actuelle est encore possible. Dans le même temps, les inégalités croissantes et d'autres dynamiques peuvent même menacer une telle transition. Plus généralement, d'importants groupements d'individus au sein de la population deviennent méfiants à l'égard des grands projets politiques, et se concentrent plutôt sur les microcosmes de transformations potentiellement incorprels de l'intérieur.

Post-Liberation Politics and Political Space in Eritrea: Interrogating Aspirations among Educated Youth

“…My entry point offers an additional dimension, in focusing more directly on the cohort of those educated for future leadership roles within the national project, in concrete those in higher education. While only a relatively small number of Eritreans gain access to any form of higher education -and conditions of everyday life are indeed quite different for many of those who do not succeed in doing so (see Müller, 2012b) -among those in higher education, the balancing act between (enforced) citizenship obligations and the realization of personal aspirations becomes particularly pronounced. Not only do such aspirations easily become forms of betrayal in the eyes of those who claim state-ownership, namely key functionaries of the ruling party, key government personnel and military commanders, who all aim to strictly enforce national duty and service to the state.…”

“…By 2011 this scenario had been transformed not only in relation to how the college was administered but also in terms of student motivations and perceptions. Not dissimilar from students at the former UoA, being admitted to Mai Nefhi was used in various ways to combine professional aspirations with imposed citizenship Journal of Development Studies, accepted manuscript version, 16/03/2017 15 obligations (for details see Müller, 2012b). This process amounts to an attempt to shift the boundaries of political space, and students are acutely aware that to carve out space to fulfil personalised aspirations requires a constant balancing act in relation to state-set obligations.…”

The Role of the International Community in the Eritrean Refugee Crisis

“…As the Western neoliberal human rights drive against the Eritrean government gained momentum, it raised eyebrows among many Eritreans. A perception deeply seated in the Eritrean psych is how the West, for the last sixty years, repeatedly ignored the collective rights of Eritrean (Wrong 2005, Muller 2012. How could a body that ignored, even denied, people's collective rights, at the same time stand up for individual rights?…”

“…The two-year war ended following peace deal brokered by the international community represented by UN, OAU, EU and US who took upon themselves the role of guarantor for the implementation of the final and binding Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Verdict (Algiers Agreement 2000). When the Verdict was announced on 13 April 2002 Ethiopia rejected it reversing its commitments because it awarded the flashpoint village of Badme to Eritrea (Muller 2012: 458, ICG 2010, Healy and Plaut 2007, Abbink 2003. For the last 14 year, Ethiopia has been insisting for dialogue before implementation, while Eritrea insists on implementation before any dialogue.…”

Universal Rights versus Exclusionary Politics: Aspirations and Despair among Eritrean Refugees in Tel Aviv

“…Partly triggered by renewed conflict with Ethiopia from 1998 to 2000 that put the implementation of a constitution that would have guaranteed economic, social, and political rights on hold, the Eritrean polity has become highly authoritarian, characterised by crackdowns on any form of dissent, the imprisonment of large numbers of people, and potentially indefinite military conscription for those under Reid 2005Reid , 2009. Not only does conscription entail curtailment of personal freedoms but it can also jeopardise any prospect of a life that follows socially engrained norms and values, such as earning a viable income and being able to start a family of one's own (on the dynamics of conscription and its consequences, see Hirt and Mohammad 2013;Müller 2012b). The threat of conscription is thus one of the major reasons why people of national-service age leave, regardless of whether they have actually been called up.…”