Wounded nation
Subtitle: how a once promising Eritrea was betrayed and its future compromised
By: Bereket Habte Selassie
Publisher: Red Sea Press
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Trenton, NJ
Language: eng
Number of pages: 311
Description: This volume takes up the life story of the author from where first volume culminated. Through historical and political analysis Bereket lays bare elements that have contributed to Eritrea's descent from a stellar model of democracy and progress to a tragic abyss of dictatorship and isolation. His narrative is an historical and biographical testament of a man who had been part of the freedom fight and a process of constitution making that had earned admiration of a wide variety of observers and commentators. Combined together with the first volume, The Crown and the Pen the book is a must read for students of history and politics of Eritrea and the Horn of Africa region. Trust is a fundamental ingredient in human relations. People place trust in the government they elect expecting it to perform its duties according to promises it makes and pursuant to the law. But promises and laws are frequently broken, which raises issue of responsibility. That is why there are legal and constitutional requirements for accountability and transparency. This book's title and subtitle are indicative of bitter disappointment of the Eritrean public whose government of former freedom fighters broke its promises. A ratified constitution has been shelved and frozen for over thirteen years and Eritrea has been governed by one-man dictatorship contrary to all expectations, both domestic and international. In 1998, the country went through a devastating war with Ethiopia. The two countries have yet to restore normal relations over a decade later. In Eritrea's case, the situation of "no-peace-no-war" has subjected hundreds of thousands of youth to an endless forced military service. This has led to a mass exodus of scores of thousands of them defecting to neighboring countries. This condition, together with general dissatisfaction of the public has raised serious questions about Eritrea's future--Publisher's description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction : from the past back to the future; title: Postliberation musings; title: The gold and the base metals : leadership and the fate of a nation; title: Immaculate deception : the original sin of Eritrean politics; title: Concord and discord : the tangled web of the EPLF/TPLF relationship; title: The constitution and the broken promise; title: What price sovereignty? : national leadership and border politics; title: From Algiers to the Hague : mediation and binding arbitration; title: "Neighbors that share fire" : border dispute and proxy wars; title: "The Berlin manifesto" and the G-15 : a squandered opportunity; title: The diaspora and a democratic opposition movement; title: State and religion; title: Ethnoregional politics.