10 - The Militarisation of Eritrean Society: Omnipresent and Never-Ending Military Service

Summary

INTRODUCTION

In our introductory chapter, we outlined how the concept of the garrison state could be used as an explanatory framework to understand Eritrea's post-independence development. In this chapter, we will further explore this assertion in terms of its relation to the high levels of militarisation in the country, both past and present. The country has been further militarised, particularly since the 1998-2000 border conflict with Ethiopia. The latest move by the president pushes the militarisation of society to the extreme, by ordering the establishment of a ‘peoples’ army’, supplying arms directly to households throughout the country. This involves the arming of civilians and ordering them to military training and to carry guns wherever they go. Senior citizens, up to the age of beyond 80 years, are reportedly forced to carry Kalashnikovs, without any adequate explanation given for this draconian and dangerous policy. In order to fully understand the challenge of the militarisation of Eritrean society, we will start our discussion by exploring the root cause of the current pervasive level of militarisation. This analysis will confirm Eritrea as a sustained African garrison state.

PROLONGED HISTORY OF MILITARISATION

Eritrea is one of the most militarised countries in the world. As a country with a long history of political violence, this may not come as a surprise. In fact, referring to a claim made by Richard Reid, Tricia Hepner argues that militarisation is not a recent phenomenon in Eritrea (Hepner 2013: 158).