1. Between Domestic and Global Politics: The Determinants of Eritrea’s Successful Secession
- Author:
- Albano Agostinho Troco
- Publication Date:
- 12-2019
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Brazilian Journal of African Studies
- Institution:
- Brazilian Journal of African Studies
- Abstract:
- Secessionist conflicts are not a novel occurrence in the African continent. Since the dawn of independence in the 1960s, a number of countries have been home to rebellions involving marginalized communities or ethno-linguistic groups demanding territorial separation from existing states with the goal to create new independent states. The list is long and includes territorial units in countries such as Angola (Cabinda), Comoros (Anjouan and Mohedi), The Democratic Republic of Congo (Katanga, South Kassai) Ethiopia (Eritrea, Ogaden, and Oromia, Afar), Mali (Tuaregs), Niger (Tuaregs), Nigeria (Biafra, Niger Delta), Senegal (Casamance), Somalia (Somaliland) and Sudan (South Sudan) only to mention a few amongst others. [...] ants of successful secessions with particular reference to the African continent. Its central argument is that the successful outcome of the secessionist struggle in Eritrea is the result of a tight combination of domestic and external factors. These include Eritrea’s historical and legal claims for territorial self-determination, the Dergue’s policies of alienation, the effectiveness of the Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front’s strategies (EPLF), the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, and the supportive role of the United States of America.
- Topic:
- Politics, Domestic politics, Conflict, and Secession
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Sudan, Ethiopia, Senegal, Nigeria, Somalia, Angola, Eritrea, Mali, Niger, Comoros, and Democratic Republic of Congo