Eritrea and South Sudan Post-Secession: Challenges, Prospects and Successes 1. Introduction Secessionist rebel movements ravaged African states in the 1980s and 1990s. Most of the secessionist movements grew out of the divide and rule system of the colonial era. Eritrea and South Sudan have been colonized, but the secessionist movements further grew out of ‘sustained grievances’ over the violation of human rights, unequal distribution of political power, and marginalization from social and economic development as well as cultural suppression. In spite of various failed attempts of secession in many African countries, Eritrea and South Sudan were successful in getting independence, with international and regional actors’ recognition. But the question remains whether these countries are on the right track to address the main challenges that emerge in the aftermath of secession, in the process of peacebuilding and state building in particular with issues of human rights, political stability and development for their people who voted for secession during referendums. The internal and external contexts in which both countries seceded could be to a certain extent different, yet both seem to share challenges in post-secession peacebuilding and state building. As such, this paper aims to examine the challenges, successes and prospects for peacebuilding and democratization in each country. 2. Background to the secession of South Sudan and Eritrea Eritrea was part of Ethiopian history since the first century A.D. it was one major part of the Axumite and Abyssinian rulers of Ethiopia. Historical and anthropological studies show that Eritrea was part of Ethiopia’s genealogy until the 1890 Italian invasion.1 Eritrea fall under Italian c... ... middle of paper ... ...egic goal has contributed to the lose relation between the movement and the whole community. 4 The Comprehensive Peace Agreement brought the war for independence to an end in 2005. The agreement set power sharing and economic development plan to be implemented with a promise of respecting the right to self-determination when and if the ‘trial’ period did not bring the intended peace and shared vision in Sudan. With the death of SPLM’s leader John Gerang in 2005 who was the main advocate for united Sudan, South Sudan’s interest has declined and with the lack of commitment from the government of Sudan to the issues agreed under the CPA secession was seen as the only option. The stagnant political stand of the government deterred any chance of the South to envision a unified Sudanese state. South Sudan gained its independence in 2011 after a nationwide referendum.
Ethiopia is one of the most unique among African countries for maintaining its freedom from colonial rule, with the short exception of an occupation by the Italians from 1936-1941. A socialist state was established in 1974 with the overthrow of Emperor Selassie, who had been in control since 1930. A junta or group of military officers called the Derg was responsible for the coup. Yet, this corrupt administration has lead only to warfare and wide scale public suffering. In 1991, the junta was finally brought down by a combination of revolutionary forces who called themselves the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front. In 1994, a constitution was drafted and 1995 marked Ethiopia’s first multiparty elections. Recently, a boarder feud with Eritrea, that lasted over 2 years, was ended in December of 2000; yet recent objections by Ethiopia have delayed a final declaration of border.
The root causes of the war could be traced back in history to the imperialist policy of great powers of Europe, an international phenomenon during the 19th century. Eritrea as a new independent entity was created by Italian colonization. Italian colonization did not only create a new independent state of Eritrea but also a separate Eritrean identity. As a result of the socio-economic improvements created by the Italian colonial legacy, Eritreans developed a distinct Eritrean identity and a sense being “civilized” and regarded Ethiopians as “backward”. (Tekeste: 2000, p.54-157). In one interview, Eritrean President Issayas once said, “We have lived with Europeans; we have seen much of the civilized world. There are many things we have learned from them. The Ethiopians, on the contrary, have just come out of the forest. They are not civilized. They feel inferior because they have come out of the bush” (Solomon: 1998, p.15).
In the years leading up to the Civil War, there was great conflict throughout the United States. The North and South had come to a crossroads at which there was no turning back. The Secession Crisis is what ultimately led to the Civil War. The North and the South disagreed on slavery and what states would be free states. The South despised Lincoln 's election and rose up in revolt by forming the Confederate States of America. Both the North and the South were responsible for the crisis, but the election of Lincoln had the most impact. All of these factors are what began the war in which brother fought brother.
How Separatist Groups Have Had Little Success at Gaining Autonomy from the Country Which they are Currently a Part Of
Due to the fact that the South only wanted to secede from the Union because they did not want slavery to be prohibited, I feel that Abraham Lincoln was correct about the constitutionality of secession. The most likely reason the South seceded was because of Abraham Lincoln being elected with a Republican majority in 1860. Lincoln's election brought upon the belief that Southern interests were losing control of the federal government. It was also assumed that this government would soon overturn the foundation of slavery or make it illegal altogether.
Revolutionary state formation entails the process of intense and violent struggle between an indigenous population and a colonial power, or between factions or sub-state entities leading to the establishment of one or more states (Maoz). The duration of the struggle and violence is typically short in duration and a result of the pressures felt from both domestic and international pressures. At the beginning of the formation of a new state of regime, acceptance is not guaranteed into the club of nations. The relevance of this fact is that the newly established regime needs to have solid grounds for validation and self-autonomy, without it is left unstable and liable to be brought down by old neighboring states. During the period of instability following the formation of a new regime, there is the additional internal threat which means that those who were in power before will be looking for the first opportunity to return to the status qou (Maoz). An additional aspect of the revolutionary state fo...
Thesis & Preview of Main Points: I will discuss the culture of Ethiopia and its geography
It is due this circumstance that the fight in Darfur, which originated from conflict over land, water and additional capitals amongst black farmers and Arab nomads, has transformed into a gory tragedy. The Darfur crisis has exposed the racial issues in Sudan which had been ready to burst into flames for a long period time. What makes it a racial conflict is that the Muslim Arab Janjaweed militia, are attacking black African Muslims. Both sides share the same Muslim beliefs but cannot live in harmony. If the southerners are not awarded the same rights as the northerners, they will continue to fight.
I remember it clear as day, “As the telegraph flashed news of Lincoln’s election,” we, “South Carolina legislature called a convention to take the state out of the Union. Within six weeks, the six other states of the lower South had also called conventions” (McPherson, 139). Electors quickly nominated delegates after concentrated campaigns. By February 9, 1861, three months subsequent to Lincoln’s election, representatives from these states met in Montgomery, Alabama, assuming an interim constitution for the Confederate States of America, selecting Jefferson Davis as the makeshift head of state.
There were some people who were for secession and they were mainly the slave owners. There were also people that were against secession and that was a large number of people in the south.The South was an agricultural state and they did want to secede and the North didn’t want to secede because they was and industrial state and they were not slave state. Not every state was apart of slavery.There were certain groups that opposed to the decision to secede.
According to Seid (2009), up until the 1970’s the conflict between the Ethiopians and the Somalis in the Ogaden region was based mostly on religion. The Ethiopian military has a more Christian view while the Somalis have more of an Islamic view. However, from the 1970s up to today, the desire for nationalism of the Ogaden population has played a main role in the conflict, even though religion is still intertwined in the conflict. The Somalis of the Ogaden region and the Ethiopians both have a we versus them mentality. The Somalis do not recognize the power of the Ethiopians versus the Ethiopians view of the Somalis as being foreigner in their country.
The newest country in the world is South Sudan, which gained its independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011, as a result of a referendum that passed with 98.83% of the vote. South Sudan is one of the poorest countries in Africa, although it has the third largest oil reserves in Sub-Saharan Africa. Though it is currently a sovereign state, South Sudan still faces issues that can disrupt its stability and eventually lead into the new nation’s first civil war.
The process of decolonization in Africa during the 1950’s through the 1970’s was a very smart yet risky idea. For some places independence was easily gained yet in other areas it was a battle. During the time periods where colonization existed, Africa was peaceful and kept things in order. People had control over their specific locations and there were no questions to be asked. Once it was decided to remove these rights, things got out of hand rather quickly. Violence was a main occurrence during the decolonization timeframe because rules, rights, leaderships, etc. got altered and drastically changed. Sometimes nonviolence was used but it usually wasn’t as effective. A major example of using nonviolence actions to gain independence is when Gandhi protested in India. African leaders have tried very hard to lessen the influence of Western powers and the broader international community but they’ve never been completely successful because they continuously needed support in state building, economic development, and public health initiatives.
According to Haynes, on gaining independence, most of the countries drafted a constitution for themselves, one that allows them the democracy and freedom they so wanted (12). The exit of the colonialists did not change situations in most of the countries. The leaders in power do not respect the constitution. The people are free but there is no democracy. The liberation they wanted remains, but a dream. This situation compares pe...
Ethiopia would not let Eritrea leave and become its own country. Ethiopia wanted to remain whole and keep their laws over the people of Eritrea. The Dergue, a military division, overthrew