Tag: nationalism
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How Eritrea Became a One‑Party State: An Autopsy
Eritrea politics, Eritrean authoritarianism, PFDJ, Isaias Afwerki, EPLF legacy, one-party state, African politics, liberation movements, conflict economies, human rights Eritrea, militarization, nationalism, political sociology, authoritarian regimes, East African politics, diaspora politics, political reform, democracy movement, Eritrean governance, totalitarian systems, state control, political analysis, regime survival, civic space, national unity, political polarization, post-independence Africa, governance failure,…
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From center to periphery: Eritrea’s forced disengagement from Ethiopia
Disparate notes on the long and short history of Eritrea Introduction: A great deal is being said and written about Ethiopia’s loud claim of access to the Red Sea. Ever since 2024, the Ethiopian prime minister has on numerous occasions warned his neighboring seacoast countries, namely Eritrea and Somalia, that they ought to allow Ethiopia…
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The World Cup That Forced a Conversation About Belonging
World Cup, migration, nationalism, identity, belonging, Moroccan Dutch, Eritrean American, dual loyalty, multiculturalism, diaspora, Europe, Netherlands, Morocco, football politics, integration, immigration, global society, Eritrea, United States, multicultural identity, sports and society, ethnic diversity, passport history, human mobility, global migration patterns
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The Elephant in the Room
I. The Meteor We Pretend Fell From the Sky There is a comforting story circulating in Eritrean political discourse – a story repeated so often, and with such ritualistic conviction, that it has become less an argument than a reflex. It tells us that the dictatorship is an alien force, a meteor that crashed into…
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The Three-Nakfa Gaze: When Poverty Is Put on Display
“Once deprivation is renamed ‘culture,’ it becomes protected from criticism. What appears as heritage can quietly function as camouflage, transforming material constraint into identity and turning urgency for change into an act that looks like disrespect. When citizens encounter one another primarily as curated displays, the relationship shifts from shared political belonging to observation, and…
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Power, Image, and Machiavellian Survival (7)
Giants and Lilliputians of the HOA: Power, Image, and Machiavellian Survival Part Seven Introduction The central argument of this essay is simple: the Horn of Africa’s instability has never been caused by its diversity, but by leaders who repeatedly manipulate that diversity for political survival. Across Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, and Djibouti, rulers have taken…
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Giants and Lilliputians: Power, Image, and Machiavellian Survival (Part V)
Giants and Lilliputians: Power, Image, and Machiavellian Survival Beyond Emperor Haile Selassie and President Isaias AfwerkiThe centralizing dogma of empire, religion and revolutions Eritrea and Ethiopia are lands where mosque and monastery, Qur’an and Psalter, have long breathed the same air. At their deepest currents, the histories of these nations are not tales of division,…
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Giants and Lilliputians: Power, Image, and Machiavellian Survival (IV)
Giants and Lilliputians: Power, Image, and Machiavellian Survival Emperor Haile Selassie and President Isaias Afwerki (Part IV) The Seeds of Division within the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) Imperial Mythology and the Weaponization of Religion To understand the fragmentation of the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), the eventual triumph of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF), and…
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The Religion of Eritreanism in Exile
Author’s Note: This essay is not a tactical critique of government or opposition, but an attempt to reframe how we think about Eritreanism itself. I argue that in exile, Eritrean identity has taken on the qualities of a religion (sustained by longing, ritual, and taboo), which creates a pseudo-reality that confuses expression with political participation.…
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The UAE and the Horn of Africa – A Swirl of Interests and Alliances
Last time I said I would cover the UAE… Here it is. Now, this isn’t a comprehensive history. It’s a sketch—basic pointers you can expand on. But it’s important to know where you stand and what circles surround you. People are born into families that grow into clans, tribes, regions, and nations. Let’s focus on…