Geo-strategic intervention and its consequences in the Horn of Africa

This article seeks to examine the role geo-strategic driven interest politics plays in security, stability, development and democratisation in the Horn of Africa (HOA). It aims to interrogate the various external interventions in the region with the aim of enhancing geostrategic interest of great powers. The most notorious geo-strategic driven intervention in postcolonial time in the region was the Cold War rivalry of the superpowers that transformed the region into playground of bipolar strife. The end of Cold War brought a brief respite in the geostrategic driven intervention in the region. The US global war on terror and the war against piracy offshores of Somalia brought again the politics of geo-strategic intervention to the region. What are the consequences of the politics of geo-strategic interest to the region? This article examines the consequences of the geo-strategic interest driven intervention to security, stability, development and democratisation in the HOA

The Ethiopia-Eritrea Rapprochement : Peace and Stability in the Horn of Africa

This book examines the Ethiopia–Eritrea rapprochement and asks whether it might lead to peace and stability in the Horn of Africa. The Algiers Agreement (2000) that was mediated by the international community – the UN, OAU, EU and USA (the same parties that also served as witnesses and guarantors) – was supposed to be final and binding. But when the Eritrea–Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) published its verdict, Ethiopia rejected it on the grounds that it awarded Badme, the flashpoint of the war, to Eritrea. The witnesses and guarantors, abdicating their responsibility, failed to exert pressure on Ethiopia, which led to a situation of ‘no war, no peace’. This stalemate lasted for 16 years, until July 2018. The recent rapprochement is driven by internal dynamics, rather than by external mediation. This has fundamentally reshaped the relationship between the two countries. The impact of the resolution of the Ethiopia–Eritrea conflict goes beyond the borders of the two countries, and has indeed brought fundamental change to the region. Full diplomatic relations have been restored between Eritrea and Somalia; and the leaders of Eritrea and Djibouti have met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This all raises the issue of whether a peace deal driven by internal dynamics fares better than one that is externally mediated. The central question that this book attempts to address is: what factors led to the resolution of a festering conflict? The book explains and analyses the rapprochement, which it argues was made possible by the maturing of objective and subjective conditions in Ethiopia and by the trust factor in Eritrea.CONTENTS: 1. Introduction -- 2. Dramatic development that changed the political landscape of a region -- 3. The maturing of objective and subjective conditions in Ethiopia -- 4. The trust factor: Eritrea -- 5. Challenges ahead -- 6. The failure of international mediation -- 7. Concluding remarks</p

Post-Secession State-Building and Reconstruction : Somaliland, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan

State-building refers to the processes undertaken by new states, while reconstitution refers to the rearrangement of an existing state following either secession or collapse. Somaliland and South Sudan are involved in process of state-building, while Sudan and Somalia are engaged in state reconstitution. Three distinctive models of state-building are taking place in the four countries. This Policy Note analyses the interlinked yet distinct process of state building

Political Economy of Regional Peacebuilding and Politics of Funding

This article examines the political economy of regional peacebuilding programmes in the era of diminishing funding. Employing methodology of qualitative text analysis and interpretation the article analyses the politics of funding regional peacebuilding. One of the central problems of peacebuilding in Africa is its dependence on external funding. Donor, bilateral and multilateral actors and agencies fund almost all the peacebuilding processes on the continent. When Western powers divert funding to other part of the world, African peacebuilding faces veritable challenges. This dependence on external financing is increasingly subjected to scathing criticism. Post-Cold War peacebuilding involves two sets of actors: those who provide the finance and those who supply the manpower. However, the informal arrangement where regional economic communities (RECs) provide the troops, while donors and rich countries supply the funding is proving untenable. Some of the questions that the article addresses are: Why is funding for peacebuilding dwindling? Why are some peacebuilding efforts well-funded, while others are not? How is the political economy of funding peacebuilding regulated? How should the AU respond to the diminishing funds? The article argues mobilising own resources could be the way out for Africa in dealing with the convoluted and festering conflicts. It concludes the politics of funding regional peacebuilding is dictated by geostrategic interests and short-term calculations rendering it unpredictable, unsustainable and ineffective

State Crisis, Conflicts and International Intervention in the Horn of Africa

Previously published online.</p

The Politics of Language in Eritrea : Equality of languages vs. bilingual official language policy

The article analyzes the discourse of politics of language in Eritrea. It argues that the language debate in Eritrea over equality of languages and bilingual official langauge policy is more about power relations than about language per se. It relates to politics of identity that derives from the construction of two identity formations as understood by political elites. Equality of languages is based on ethnic identity, whereas official language is based on the construction of supra-ethnic civic identity. According to the constructivist bilingual official language Arabic and Tigrinya are supposed to represent two different socio-cultural identity formation, notably, Islam-Arabic  and Christian-Tigrinya. Consequently, the official language policy debate could be construed to derive from politics of power relation where two groups of elites supposedly representing the two identity formations are engaged in power competition reflecting real or imaginary socio-cultural cleavage of respective identity. In this sense the bilingual official language is designed to create social equilibrium wherein it is supposed that power would equitably distributed between two rival elite groups

Why South Sudan conflict is proving intractable : Ugandan forces and lack of international commitment two reasons

In December 2013 war broke out in South Sudan as a result of the power struggle between President Salva Kiir and the ex-vice president Riek Machar. Violence from both sides led to massacres and millions of displaced persons. Agreements to end hostilities have so far been violated. A sustainable peace calls for Ugandan forces to leave South Sudan. The political parties have to reform and be a part of national reconciliation instead of fighting one another

Self-determination and secession : A 21st Century Challenge to the Post-colonial State in Africa

Two approaches have characterised analysis of the postcolonial state in Africa. One emphasises the territorial integrity of the postcolonial state, with inherited colonial borders being viewed as sacrosanct and state-centred rights being given primacy. The other questions the sacrosanctity of colonial borders and seeks to promote the primacy of people-centred rights. The increasing frequency in recent years of quests for self-determination and secession in Africa poses an existential challenge to the postcolonial state on that continent. This Policy Note addresses this emerging trend