Old Sins Cast Long Shadows : Failed democratisation in Eritrea

Abstract

In 1993, Eritrea achieved de jure independence and was perceived by the international community and the Eritrean population as Africa’s new hope as the leadership projected a rhetoric of multi-party elections, socio-economic development and human rights. Today, the country is one of the worst human rights violators, there is only one party allowed, and dissenters are thrown into prison and tortured without due process. The thesis attempts to answer the research question: why has Eritrea failed to democratise? It thoroughly goes through the dominant democratisation theories and uses an eclectic theory based on historical sociology, transition theory and post-conflict democratisation theory. It creates an alternative framework with the state, society and external relations as three analytical dimensions. The thesis concludes with stating that all three dimensions have contributed to the failure of democratisation in Eritrea and that it is only possible to understand how they have contributed by looking back in history to see how structures have affected the different agents.