Borders and boundaries in the state-making of Eritrea: revisiting the importance of territorial integrity in the rapprochement between Eritrea and Ethiopia

Müller, Tanja R.

doi:10.1080/03056244.2019.1605590

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…After becoming the dominant military group representing the entity, it not only pushed forward the ideas of Eritreans and state development but also aided the local population in establishing a tangible connection with the future population of the state (Dias & Dorman, 2019;Mahrt, 2009, p. 404). The idea of the connection between state and society is rooted in guerrilla history (Woldemikael, 2009), and the national identity of Eritreans is closely connected to the state's existence (Müller, 2019). After gaining independence, the now governing EPLF, headed by Isaias Afwerki, continued with the state and nation-building project (Riggan, 2016, p. 9), including aggressive delimitation of borders involving border wars with all of its neighbors (Müller, 2019;Plaut, 2016, pp.…”

Section: Eritreamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The idea of the connection between state and society is rooted in guerrilla history (Woldemikael, 2009), and the national identity of Eritreans is closely connected to the state's existence (Müller, 2019). After gaining independence, the now governing EPLF, headed by Isaias Afwerki, continued with the state and nation-building project (Riggan, 2016, p. 9), including aggressive delimitation of borders involving border wars with all of its neighbors (Müller, 2019;Plaut, 2016, pp. 28-30;Sudan in 1994, Yemen in 1995, Djibouti in 1996, and Ethiopia in 1998-2000Dias & Dorman, 2019, p. 413).…”

Section: Eritreamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…399–400). As such, the ethno-linguistically and religiously diverse territory began to develop a distinct identity that was not respected by treaties (Bereketeab, 2018, p. 158; Dias & Dorman, 2019, p. 397; Müller, 2019; Plaut, 2016, pp. 6–7).…”

Section: Case Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nomos, Hostis, and War: State-Building Process and Armed Forces in Africa

Doboš

Mičko

2022

Armed Forces & Society

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State-building process in Africa appears in different conditions to those experienced on other continents. It is primarily characterized by the presence of fixed borders. The article repurposes evolutionary and identitarian theories on the development of political communities for the African realities. It highlights the necessity to develop policies creating territorial division between the population of the state and the external environment and utilizing armed forces for the protection of the state against such an environment for the state-building process to succeed. In cases of Eritrea, Senegal, and Burkina Faso, three hypotheses are being tested with an outcome that state-building process connected to the creation of Nomos does not have to be violent but requires a connection of the armed forces to the society. Once the division between the Nomos and the hostis develops inside of the state, such entities are not able to develop power projection capabilities inside their borders.

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Section: Eritreamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Eritreamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nomos, Hostis, and War: State-Building Process and Armed Forces in Africa

Doboš

Mičko

2022

Armed Forces & Society

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“…In an additional twist, the very existence of a former Western colonial power, Italy, served as the justification for the legitimacy of that struggle. Thus one can say that the Eritrean liberation struggle ultimately, even if not directly stated as an objective, sought to justify the former colonial order on the African continent, as its legitimacy rested on the acceptance of colonial borders as demarcations of contemporary nation states (Müller 2019b).…”

Section: The Creation Of Eritrea As a Territorial Nation-statementioning

confidence: 99%

“…and the Italian colonial power at the end of the 19 th century. Such a lens adds an important dimension to not only moving beyond regarding Eritrea as a negative force in the region that entered into violent conflict with all its neighbours (Müller 2019b). It also opens wider perspectives for recognising fluid boundaries in everyday lives, and therefore has the potential to hold wider lessons for boundary disputes in other settings.…”

Section: The Creation Of Eritrea As a Territorial Nation-statementioning

confidence: 99%

Colonial borders and hybrid identities: Lessons from the case of Eritrea

Müller

2020

Borderlands Journal

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Colonialism left numerous borders in its wake that subsequently became contested. These colonial borders have often been discussed as artificial, dividing communities, people or ethnicities that otherwise would belong together. Such an interpretation of colonial borders, I argue in this article, overlooks another important aspect of colonial boundaries: their role in creating nations as ‘imagined communities’ who in making reference to such borders can lay claim to a distinct national identity. While such an identity can be exclusionary and trigger conflict, it can also have a much more positive and ultimately hybrid function. I use the case of Italian colonialism in the Horn of Africa to demonstrate these multiple roles colonial boundaries can occupy and focus specifically on the creation and contestations of the borders of Eritrea. I argue that the acceptance of borders as markers of identity can be a prerequisite for finding innovative ways to overcome exclusions in the everyday lives of borderland groups. Thus, the example of Eritrea could hold wider lessons for addressing postcolonial disputes about borders and boundaries, if institutional arrangements are put in place that allow fluidity in everyday encounters.

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