Search

Copyright of Africa Spectrum is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Two conferences held on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Eritrean independence operate as Austinian "unhappy performatives." Using a performance studies lens offers new ways of understanding the dynamics of scholarship about international politics, thereby contributing to wider debates on how performances of truths often replace truth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Review of African Political Economy is the property of Review of Political Economy (ROAPE) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents a report by the United Nation Human Rights Council on findings of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea on geopolitics, narratives of oppression and human rights violations in Eritrea.

This paper investigates how Eritrean refugees in Israel and civil society organisations who engage with refugee issues contest the exclusionary politics of asylum in Israel. It presents various acts of claims-making initiated by Eritrean refugees themselves or in response to hostility by others, as well as acts inaugurated by Israeli civil society organisations on behalf of or with refugee populations. Drawing on the concept of activist acts of citizenship developed by Engin Isin, the paper subsequently analyses to what degree those acts have redefined aspects of social and political membership for Eritrean refugees in Israel. In a further step, it shows the limitations of such acts in terms of developing a solidaristic refugee-citizen agenda that profoundly challenges hegemonic public discourse and political debate. The paper concludes by arguing that activist acts of citizenship are best studied in relation to the transformative power they may have on the various individuals engaging in them, but not as a strategy for a wider politics of resistance, as ultimately nation state politics continue to determine the actual realisation of concrete rights. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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 Érythrée.] Cet article propose une lecture alternative de la situation actuelle en Érythrée qui va au-delà du récit de la dictature et de l'oppression. Basé sur des travaux récents en Érythrée et parmi les réfugiés érythréens à Tel Aviv, il offre une interprétation mitigée des développements au sein de l’Érythrée. 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. Mots-clés: Érythrée; état de siège; hybridité [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: This paper discusses Eritrea as a contemporary case of state-making grounded in war, a fact that has resulted in the emergence of one of the ‘hardest’ states in sub-Saharan Africa. The state-making process in Eritrea is looked at with a focus on the legacies of liberation movement governance in the changing dynamics of state consolidation from 1993 to this day. Those dynamics are analysed by reverting to Hirsch-man’s categories of ‘loyalty’, ‘exit’ and ‘voice’. Hirschman’s framework is chosen because the category of loyalty and resulting dynamics illuminate particularly well the transitions within the Eritrean state making process. It is shown that the parameters of war that have resulted in the creation of the Eritrean state have led to a particular kind of state characterised by a high degree of loyalty, visible in the propensity of large segments of the population to associate with state activities. Over time and partly based on military defeat in renewed warfare, the exit option has gained prominence particular among the young generation. This has resulted in a drive towards state securitisation combined with measures to make exit a pillar of power consolidation. Those dynamics have not considerably altered the loyalty of Eritrea’s transnational citizenry to the wider project of state consolidation. The paper concludes that state consolidation in Eritrea can thus far be analysed as a successful shift from fostering voice via politics of mobilisation to controlling exit and voice in ways that keep citizens tied to the state project. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this article Eritrea is discussed as a developmental state based on biopolitics. Taking the example of higher education, it is shown how the biopolitical project as applied to education policies and human resource development at first succeeded in terms of reinforcing personal nationalism, while at the same time opening up spaces for the fulfilment of personal aspirations. Of late, however, the biopolitical project has turned 'pernicious' and has become a tool of oppression. These developments, if they are to continue, will not only jeopardise the state's developmental agenda but may lead to the Eritrean polity in its present form becoming unviable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the work of Bourdieu, this paper analyses how far formal education within a revolutionary setting can act as a 'strategy-generating' institution in terms of enabling women to aspire to and achieve goals they would not even have envisaged pre-revolution. In making its case, it draws on the examples of three revolutionary societies: Vietnam (since 1976), Nicaragua (1979-1990) and Eritrea (since 1991). It is argued that even though not eliminating gender as a discriminatory marker, education indeed creates room for personal emancipation. While this could equally be achieved by openings within a neo-liberal setting, a strong focus on fostering social cohesion makes educational policies in revolutionary societies different. The paper ends by arguing that revolutionary states can offer valuable lessons for education as a source of social equity. It advocates to newly consider what type of state supports what kind of education system and for what purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One central pillar of the Eritrean revolution is the modernization of gender roles within Eritrean society, through education. This article, based on ethnographic style research, looks at the personal experiences of young women in Eritrean secondary schools. These girls’ journeys are discussed in terms of gender resistance, exemplifying modernity, and gender accommodation, exemplifying tradition. It is argued that these categories are not as dichotomous as claimed by the education policy agenda: in contrast, many young women strive to find a balance between the two. Ultimately, the success of the Eritrean model of the modernization of gender roles should be measured in terms of having created an environment in which women are able to strive to fulfil their aspirations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the political response to HIV/AIDS in Eritrea, a country where the epidemic appears to have stabilized at an average prevalence rate of around 3%. It shows that Eritrea has mobilized an effective multisectoral response to cope with the epidemic and its impact under conditions of full-scale war followed by a still-fragile postconflict situation, compounded by recurring drought and economic decline. As one key factor for successful policy action, the commitment of a centralized government with the capacity to implement its decisions and mobilize other stakeholders is identified. Another important factor might be the high level of social cohesion prevalent within Eritrean society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human resource development as an objective of education policy in developing countries is increasingly narrowed down to its human capital component. In Eritrea, the objective of a highly centralized human resource development strategy is to produce human capital for the advancement of the nation. This instrumentalist view ignores the fact that education is not only related to one's position in a given society, but equally to the development of personal identity and new forms of agency on an individual level—thus potentially encompassing contradictions between the individual and the common good. This paper—based on the personal histories of a sample of female students at Asmara University—discusses these contradictions in terms of these women's acceptance of and resistance to the government's plan for them. It further argues that an education system geared predominantly towards the creation of human capital is bound to do so at the expense of social solidarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]