Eritrea

Eritrea fought the longest independence war in modern African history—thirty years against Ethiopian rule—only to replace foreign domination with domestic despotism. President Isaias Afwerki, the liberation commander who became dictator, has ruled without election since 1993. The nation that voted 99.83% for freedom now ranks among the world's most repressive states.

The territory's strategic value has attracted conquerors for millennia. Eritrea's Red Sea coastline controls access to the Suez Canal; its highlands offered agricultural potential in a arid region. The Aksumite Empire (1st century BCE to 7th century CE) centered on this territory, linking Africa to Arabia and the Mediterranean. Arab traders established coastal settlements; Ottoman Turks and Egyptian Khedives followed. Italian colonizers purchased land in Assab through a shipping company in 1869, expanding their foothold until formally declaring Eritrea a colony on January 1, 1890. Italy ruled until 1941, when British forces expelled them during World War II.

The post-war settlement ignored Eritrean aspirations. Though UN investigations found majority support for complete independence, the 1950 General Assembly resolution forced federation with Ethiopia—a compromise serving Ethiopian claims and Western Cold War interests (the US wanted military bases). Emperor Haile Selassie dissolved the federation in 1962, annexing Eritrea as a province. The Eritrean Liberation Front, led by Hamid Idris Awate, launched armed struggle on September 1, 1961. What followed would span three decades, continue through the Ethiopian revolution that replaced Haile Selassie with the Derg's Marxist dictatorship, and cost an estimated 100,000 lives.

The Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), led by Isaias Afwerki, emerged as the dominant rebel force. In 1991, as the Derg collapsed, EPLF forces captured Asmara. The April 1993 referendum—verified by UN observers—delivered the 99.83% mandate for independence. Eritrea joined the United Nations on May 28, 1993, with Afwerki as president. For a brief moment, the nation appeared to offer hope: a liberation movement transforming into developmental state.

That hope died quickly. Afwerki never held the promised elections. A 1998-2000 border war with Ethiopia killed 100,000 more. In 2001, Afwerki arrested journalists and dissidents; independent media ceased to exist. The national service program, originally 18 months, became indefinite conscription—essentially state-sanctioned forced labor. Conscripts are deployed to state enterprises, mining projects, and construction with minimal pay. The Bisha mine, operated by Nevsun Resources (a Canadian company), faced allegations of benefiting from forced labor through such contractors.

Today, Eritrea is among the world's most isolated nations. Western donors departed by the early 2000s; NGOs were expelled; sanctions and human rights concerns deter investment. China dominates what foreign engagement exists. Mining accounts for 20% of GDP and over 90% of exports—zinc, copper, and gold extracted by a workforce that cannot legally refuse. The UN estimates per capita income below $700 annually. Neighboring Djibouti, similarly positioned but differently governed, earns five times more.

The isolation is deliberate. Afwerki calls it "strategic isolation by choice"—in practice, a formula for controlling a population that cannot leave, cannot organize, and cannot access information from outside. Approximately 5,000 Eritreans flee monthly; refugee camps in Ethiopia and Sudan overflow with conscription evaders.

Through 2026, Afwerki approaches 80 and 32 years of unchallenged rule. His October 2025 development blueprint promises dams, power grids, and fisheries expansion—plans that require the same conscript labor that drives citizens abroad. Tensions with Ethiopia over Red Sea access periodically threaten renewed conflict. The liberation movement that fought for self-determination delivered a nation that determines nothing for itself. Eritrea's freedom struggle succeeded; its freedom has yet to begin.