On 06 February 2007. by order of then-President George W. Bush. the Department of Defense established United States Africa Command. The creative activity of Africa Command is due in big portion to the increased significance of the African continent to the national security scheme of the United States of America. Two of import countries related to Africa’s significance semen into inquiry when covering with the current state of affairs in Eritrea.
The first relates to the comparative breakability of the Eritrean province. Within the 2002National Security Strategy of the United States of America. it states that “weak provinces can present as great a danger to our national involvements as strong provinces. Poverty does non do hapless people into terrorists and liquidators. Yet poorness. weak establishments. and corruptness can do weak provinces vulnerable. ”
The document’s averment besides applies to the Horn of Africa state. Eritrea. Eritrea’s hapless administration. and external aggression and viing boundary line claims with Ethiopia may take to the same terminals of a failed province and human-centered catastrophe. outlined by then-President Bush. The 2nd country of the United States’ strategic involvement as it pertains to Africa and more significantly Eritrea remains the human-centered concern for the lay waste toing toll that protracted struggle. poorness. dearth. and disease continues to play on the well being of the African continent and more specifically on the Eritrean province. Eritrea continues to fight with important internal developmental issues.
The country’s autocratic authorities. under the regulation of President Isaias Afwerki. has basically closed the boundary lines to any and all outside influences. Under United States’ scheme “the way of political and economic freedom presents the surest path to progress” but in Eritrea. that advancement has been stymied in a call to militarise in portion due to a sensed Ethiopian military menace.
In analyzing Eritrea’s history. the state went through several phases and decennaries of battle in order to derive its independency. Once a portion of neighbouring Ethiopia’s federation through a UN Mandate in the fiftiess. Eritrea’s independency would be eventually re-instated non until about four decennaries subsequently. The struggle with Ethiopia can be regarded every bit critical to Eritrea’s ain development particularly as the latter would implement agencies to keep liberty after its independency in 1993. following a long period of war with the former. In add-on to this. Eritrea has besides had strained dealingss with its adjacent states due to long standing issues such as boundary line limit and other differences.
Interestingly. although it seems that Eritrea’s independency and its continues chase of its ain economic and political soundness. the state has remained critically in struggle with Ethiopia. A few old ages after its independency from Ethiopia. in 1998. the states got involved in another border-related war. Despite the 3rd party efforts to keep the peace. enterprises such as the United Nations’ peace maintaining operations. an international committee. and the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission still failed to set up the peace between the two states.
Such events can be regarded to lend to Eritrea’s other battles. peculiarly in footings of its economic public presentation. Even though mobilization can non be considered as a sound response to the eminent menaces Eritrea continues to confront. mobilization seems to be a likely solution in order to protect itself. As can be seen in the US government’s attack to Eritrea’s state of affairs. under the presidential term of George W. Bush. it can be gathered that the state had been identified as a signifier of menace non merely in footings of the security in the Horn of Africa but besides. potentially. in Eritrea’s alleged function in being a genteelness land of terrorists.
It is interesting to analyze the Africa Command particularly as how this assesses Eritrea in the context of security and mobilization in the economic model. Due to the country’s long history of struggle and difference. it is already a given that Eritrea has been fighting economically as the county had non maximized its possible. Furthermore. resources-wise. the autocratic government would intend that there would be greater control in the flow and distribution of goods ; as Eritrea has been considered to acquiring more and more stray for the intent of protection and greater internal control. the concerns of states such as the United States is that Eritrea could perchance go a genteelness land for terrorist act.
Mobilization and the economic system can be regarded to be more apparent in Africa like the diamond wars in the East Coast. and in the instance of Eritrea. the mobilization may be due to its protectionist purposes in which economic constituents such as money and goods would function tools that could foster finance more struggle and more wars. In add-on. the mobilization of the economic system can decline the societal conditions in the state where in the terminal it is the people who end up enduring. In add-on. in the planetary context. Eritrea’s place as a possible menace due to allegations of terrorist act sponsorship can further force the state and decline its current state of affairs.
At this point. the American uttered concerns of the United States over the Horn of Africa and Eritrea echoes how mobilization does non merely present a menace to national and regional security but besides. a weak state may fall under certain governments and influences that may hold a greater planetary impact. This therefore does non merely raise the issue in Eritrea specifically as to how the state remains undeveloped and critically on the route to mobilization. but besides how such conditions can be deemed similar among many developing states that rely on military activities as a beginning of national and economic strength.
In a sense. it can be gathered that Eritrea’s state of affairs demonstrates a Catch-22 in which both security and economic factors seem to hold caught the state in a web that creates a strong sense of menace in the part. At this point. as Eritrea is in a defensive stance. its sense of isolation that is supposed to protect the state creates more struggle among internal groups in add-on to its current differences with other states such as Ethiopia and Yemen. Economically. the deficiency of activity. development and the increasing destitute state of affairs may take to farther internal struggle in which any economic activity may merely take to the billboard of goods for the incorrect the intents despite its security impact such as the trading of arms to be used for more wars and terrorist act. in add-on to internal agitation due to the misallocation of resources. Militarization. therefore. becomes an immediate solution for endurance but in the long tally. Eritrea may be delving its ain grave.
An scrutiny of such developments is presented by several literatures particularly in the facet of the mobilization of the economic system. Signs of nationalist stances — as represented by greater economic activity as a agency to set up “self-reliance” — can be destructed by the deficiency of economic sustainability. In Eritrea’s instance. the turning job is that since the state has had jobs to lift economically. much has been depended on the remittals sent by Eritreans in other parts of the universe. Again. these remittals. which have been fuelling the economic system for old ages. have so far benefited the authorities thereby outside money has been used to keep power and non to turn to the desperate state of affairs Eritrea has been sing.
At this point Eritrea represents a state that has fallen victim to the strengths of its adjacent states. and that the country’s current base on its state of affairs represent a more focussed scheme through defence allotment. Eritrea has been under menace for several decennaries. and the impact has been both external and internal. Internally. Eritrea has been enduring economically and socially. with the state topic to autocratic government that has prevented the state from having significant aid from international organisations and states that would enable Eritrea to acquire itself on path. As a consequence. poorness in Eritrea is prevailing.
Externally. in add-on to its differences. Eritrea farther contributes to the struggle that has been present in the Horn of Africa. For case. its struggle with Ethiopia has been identified as influential to the jobs in Somalia. largely due to Eritrea’s influence to promote anti-Ethiopia groups in Somalia and even inside Ethiopia.
What highlights the state of affairs is the fact that struggle kineticss in this instance has had a strong political and independent influence which has created a domain of deductions that farther do Eritrea a critical constituent in the security web in the Horn of Africa. This is an interesting factor because of Eritrea’s economic and political place. but seemingly. its mobilization has farther put Eritrea in the list of one of the country’s to watch as a possible beginning of regional and even planetary security menace. This besides shows that. similar to the Richardson’s theoretical account of weaponries races. Eritrea demonstrates that the mobilization is due to the military burdens the state has been sing that even its economic system and development have been put to give.
