Introduction: The term “Identity politics” is popularized as a political discourse in the higher educational institutions, since 1970s. Identity politics was originally emerged as a way of consciousness raising among marginalized [social] groups and as means to empower those groups who felt oppressed by the society around them [1]. The …
Read More »Good Governance and The Challenges of Eritrean Cultural Diversity
“This essay was originally submitted to Awate as a contribution to a journal planned to be issued after the establishment of a foundation under the working name of Awate2020. It’s being posted here with permission of the publisher to add to the recent debates on the Awate Forum in regard …
Read More »Perceptions & Values: Transforming the Eritrean Minds
“Begin challenging your own assumptions. Your assumptions are your window on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.” —Alan Alda If you ask an artist what is the most difficult subject to paint while retaining true likeness, you are likely to …
Read More »The Allyship Model of Anti-Marginalization Struggle
“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” Goethe Dawit Mesfin’s recent article “All about self-liberation” has generated and stimulated discussion among the greatest notable minds of awate forum. The article and the debaters’ input provoked me to write this piece to enhance Dawit’s thesis …
Read More »Stand up Before You Become A Victim Of The Beast
“Each one hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough, the crocodile will eat him (her) last. All of them hope that the storm will pass before their turn comes to be devoured.” Winston Churchill The above quotation is from one of the finest political wits, Winston Churchill, which was …
Read More »A Nation Born Out of A Struggle And Arguments Failed To Unite It’s Diversity
INTRODUCTION: In sociology and political studies, the term diversity describes differences by identifying features that includes ethnic classifications, ideological philosophies, religious beliefs, gender identity etc. And are measured by “diversity indexes” – a proportional ratio of accommodation for purposes of peaceful coexistence. In our contemporary life, diversity to some means …
Read More »Know Your Enemy And Thyself: Act Accordingly
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle” …
Read More »Constitutional Reform And Reconciliation
Introduction:The major division of thoughts in philosophy is the relationship between “being” and “thinking” and the definition of what the world is consisting of – in primary instance. Materialism claims that, in the first instance – the world is just “a matter in motion” and our mind, awareness, and thoughts …
Read More »Critiques And The Politics of Truth: “EASE” Demonstrated Afar’s Grievances
“No theory can develop without encountering a wall, and practice is necessary for piercing this wall” [Gilles Deleuze] Introduction On December 26 to 27, 2015, the “Global Eritrean Advocacy Network” (GEAN) had convened a conference in Cypress California [Gedab News, Dec. 30, 2015]. In the conference Ahmed Youssouf Mohamed, the …
Read More »Tunisian Model: Analogical Reasoning for Eritrea’s Democratic Transition
“We shall patiently bear the trials that fate impose on us. We shall work for others without rest” [Anton Chekhov, from his letter to Vanya,1899]. Introduction Emerging democratic governments in the third world would certainly have to confront a legacy of poverty, illiteracy, militarization, a society with multicultural mistrusts, and …
Read More »Decentralized Unitary Governance: A Poison Model Or A Panacea
Overview The terms “centralization” and “decentralization” as new political phenomenon for governmental structures came into usage in France in 1794 and 1820 respectively. After the French revolution, in the mid 1800, Alexis De Tocqueville wrote an article about “a push towards decentralization” but at the end it becomes the extension …
Read More »Eritrea’s Prospect: Joining The league Of Hybrid Regimes
The war against superstition and totalitarian mentality is an endless war. In Protean form, it is fought and refought in every generation (Christopher Hitchens) For years we have debated on the nature of the Eritrean regime some opposing it …
Read More »Eritrean Politics: A Proto-Version Of Never Land
Theorists and practitioners always have different perspectives. Theorists think about synchronism or simultaneous occurrences and assume reliable approaches. Practitioners on the far side think about copout and worry about collisions. Unfortunately, these two sets of views are not entirely compatible; there are many subtle issues that arise in the process …
Read More »Critique of Pure Reason: Concepts Aren’t Ambiguity of Ostension
Critique of pure reason was the first book of Immanuel Kant in 1781. The purpose of authoring the book was to give new status to “reason” and new contours to “understandings,” in making analytic and synthetic judgment for shaping the reality around us. In doing that Kant tried to separate …
Read More »Democratic Coup In Eritrea: Unrealistic Utopian Project
[quote style=”4″ author=”Comte de Mirabeau“]When you undertake a revolution, the difficulty is not to make it go; it is to hold it in check.[/quote] Prelude In October 5, 2008, I called on the Eritrean Defense Force (EDF) to avoid the war and defend the rights of our people. In that …
Read More »An Axe That Breaks Down: YG’S Diagnostic Fallacy
[quote style=”4″ author=”Anton Chekhov“]Don’t invent Suffering you have never experienced, and don’t paint Pictures you have never seen[/quote] Franz Kafka was quoted by the crusading noble laureate for literature, Nadine Gordimer, calling literature as “an ax to break up the frozen sea within us.” Writers and authors have the ability …
Read More »U-Turns Regression: Two Opposition, Two Eritreas
“In truth, there is no pain but comfort, no fear but courage, no chaos but order, no betrayal but trust and no dishonor but the highest of accolades.” (Haile-TG) Prelude Politics has never been a matter of principles. It was and will be a matter of interest. It is not …
Read More »Political Dialogue Symposium Needed
[This is a speech presented on March 8, 2014 at the Eritrean Global Solidarity (EGS) Symposium, in the metro Washington-DC, on the general theme: Exploring possible scenario for Eritrean transition to democracy] The Current Situation of the Eritrean Political and Civic Struggle: The Need of Symposium for a Political Dialogue …
Read More »Contours of change And Equilibrium of its Parts (P-V)
Hard Talk: The contours of change And the Equilibrium of its Parts (Part-V) [This writer warns not to push the envelope of mistrust to the extent of enmity that will hurt the coexistence of our social groups] Prelude In the words of Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov, “anything outstanding and original in …
Read More »Unity And Trust: The Deferred Gratifications
Prelude Recently, my attention was pulled by a compelling attraction, a subject called “political psychology” – a new branch of political science. It is a field dedicated and aimed to understand the political behavior of politicians and political organizations from psychological perspectives. The theory is applied to many contexts, some …
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