Writing Eritrea: history and representation in a bad neighbourhood

Reid, Richard

Abstract

This paper reflects on the ways in which Eritrea has been written about since circa 2001, the point at which the country entered a new phase of heightened authoritarianism and increased international isolation. It considers the ways in which Eritrea has been seen largely in “presentist” terms, due in no small way to the Eritrean government’s own intrinsic hostility to independent historical research, with an overwhelming fixation on its dire human rights and governance record, and on the nature of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF), which governs in all but name. The paper urges a more historical approach, beginning with the critical three decades that preceded the emergence of the EPLF in the early 1970s.

Citation

Reid, R. (2014). Writing Eritrea: history and representation in a bad neighbourhood. History in Africa, 41, 83-115. https://doi.org/10.1017/hia.2014.16

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: May 1, 2014
• Deposit Date: Jun 18, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 12, 2025
• Journal: History in Africa
• Print ISSN: 0361-5413
• Electronic ISSN: 1558-2744
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 41
• Pages: 83-115
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/hia.2014.16