Eritrea: Global Ties and
Diplomacy<
http://africabusiness.com/2014/03/17/eritrea-global-ties-and-diplomacy/>
by Fikrejesus Amahazion
In recent years, a number of commentators have regularly referred to
Eritrea, a young, developing country located in the volatile Horn of
Africa, as isolationist, the "North Korea" of Africa, or the "hermit
kingdom." While such statements suggest Eritrea remains detached from the
global community, closer analysis reveals that they are clichéd, overly
simplistic, and largely incorrect.
For example, the months since late December 2013 have witnessed: Eritrea's
President, Isaias Afewerki, travel to Qatar to promote cooperation and
bilateral ties[i]; Eritrea host a UN delegation which noted Eritrea's
impressive progress towards achieving the UN Millennium Development
Goals[ii]; Eritrea appoint 14 new Ambassadors to different countries and
regional organizations[iii]; the visit of Finland's Minister for
International Development, Pekka Haavisto, to promote international
interaction and enhance the European Union's (EU) dialogue with
Eritrea[iv]; and Eritrea's signing of several bilateral agreements with
both Turkey and Russia.[v] Additionally, recent weeks saw Eritrea address
the 25th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, and participate in the
58th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).[vi]
While far from a comprehensive list of Eritrea's broad range of diplomatic
activities, the examples offer a brief illustration of the country's
commitment to respectful, egalitarian, mutually beneficial partnerships
with members of the international community.
A potentially more incisive tool to critically examine references to
Eritrea being "isolationist" or the "hermit kingdom" is by considering the
country's memberships in international non-governmental organizations
(INGOs), referred to as INGO ties. Popular within international,
cross-comparative analyses in sociology and political science, INGO ties
are typically utilized by researchers to capture a state's level of
embeddedness within world society. Simply, states with more INGO ties are
more embedded in world society and states with less INGO ties are less
embedded.
Utilizing data from the Yearbook of International Organizations, annually
published by the Union of International Associations - described as
providing the "most extensive information on organizations in the
world"[vii] - Eritrea's INGO ties per 100,000 citizens was 2.06 for the
year 2005 and 2.04 for the year 2010. By comparison, for the years 2005 and
2010 respectively, per 100,000 citizens: Ethiopia had 0.52 and 0.47 ties;
Sudan had 1.42 and 1.37 ties; Uganda had 1.98 and 1.78 ties; Tanzania had
1.54 and 1.34 ties; and Kenya had 2.47 and 2.2 ties.[viii]
Effectively, rather than isolation, the above data on INGO ties (summarized
in Tables 1 and 2) suggest that Eritrea is amongst the most internationally
embedded countries within its region.
Finally, another useful method to examine claims of Eritrea's isolation is
by considering its diplomatic representation abroad. Within sociology,
international relations, and political science, diplomatic representation
abroad has been seen as important for fostering and maintaining friendly
relations between states, and between states and other actors. Amongst
other things, it helps promote states' socio-economic and political
interests, while also encouraging understanding, coordination, and the
solving of problems.[ix]
According to Eritrea's Permanent Mission to the African Union (AU), Eritrea
currently has 36 diplomatic missions abroad. By comparison, Kenya has 50,
Uganda 31, Ethiopia 39, Tanzania 32, Sudan 64, and Djibouti 50.[x] However,
considering the number of diplomatic missions in relation to the number of
years since formal independence - an important factor in establishing
diplomatic representation abroad - illustrates that Eritrea's ratio is 1.7.
By comparison, Kenya's ratio of diplomatic missions abroad in relation to
years since independence is 0.98, while Uganda's is 0.6, Djibouti's is
1.35, Sudan's is 1.1, Tanzania's is 0.6, and Ethiopia's is 0.53. Simply,
Eritrea establishes diplomatic missions abroad at a faster rate than its
regional neighbors.
Overall, the preceding discussion suggests claims that Eritrea is
isolationist, the "North Korea" of Africa, or the "hermit kingdom" are
overly simplistic and incorrect - particularly when Eritrea's neighbors are
also examined. Moving forward, as Eritrea works toward improving the lives
of its people, it should also continue to foster regional and global
relations. Doing so will not only encourage regional peace and stability,
but also support economic and general development.
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http://africabusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/tables-eritrea.png>
*REFERENCES*
------------------------------
[i]<
http://africabusiness.com/2014/03/17/eritrea-global-ties-and-diplomacy/#_ednref1>
http://shabait.com/news/local-news/16339-president-holds-more-<
http://shabait.com/news/local-news/16339-president-holds-more-talks-with-qatari-government-officials>
[ii]<
http://africabusiness.com/2014/03/17/eritrea-global-ties-and-diplomacy/#_ednref2>
1.
https://twitter.com/MarDieye/status/413407809120661504
2.
http://www.tesfanews.net/eritrea-making-impressive-progress<
http://www.tesfanews.net/eritrea-making-impressive-progress-towards-achieving-mdg/>
[iii]<
http://africabusiness.com/2014/03/17/eritrea-global-ties-and-diplomacy/#_ednref3>
http://www.tesfanews.net/eritrea-appoints-14-ambassadors/
[iv]<
http://africabusiness.com/2014/03/17/eritrea-global-ties-and-diplomacy/#_ednref4>
http://www.tesfanews.net/finlands-development-minister-heading-to-eritrea/
[v]<
http://africabusiness.com/2014/03/17/eritrea-global-ties-and-diplomacy/#_ednref5>
1.
http://www.tesfanews.net/turkey-and-eritrea-signed-civil-aviation-agreement/
2.
http://www.tesfanews.net/fifth-edition-of-eri-news-is-out/<
http://www.tesfanews.net/fifth-edition-of-eri-news-is-out/>
3.
http://www.tesfanews.net/russia-eritrea-agree-to-boost-<
http://www.tesfanews.net/russia-eritrea-agree-to-boost-trade-and-economic-co-operation/>
[vi]<
http://africabusiness.com/2014/03/17/eritrea-global-ties-and-diplomacy/#_ednref6>
1.
http://www.madote.com/2014/03/eritrea-sixth-edition-bi-weekly.html
2.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/212581718/Eri-News-Issue-1-6-1
[vii]<
http://africabusiness.com/2014/03/17/eritrea-global-ties-and-diplomacy/#_ednref7>
Drori, G., J. Meyer, F. Ramirez, and E. Schofer. 2003. Science in the
Modern World
Polity: Institutionalization and Globalization. Stanford, CA: Stanford
University
Press.
[viii]<
http://africabusiness.com/2014/03/17/eritrea-global-ties-and-diplomacy/#_ednref8>
Population
data: UN. 2012. World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision.
Available at:
http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Excel-Data/population.htm
[ix]<
http://africabusiness.com/2014/03/17/eritrea-global-ties-and-diplomacy/#_ednref9>
Neumayer,
E. 2008. "Distance, Power and Ideology: Diplomatic Representation in a
World of Nation-States." *Area*. 40 (2): 228-236.
[x]<
http://africabusiness.com/2014/03/17/eritrea-global-ties-and-diplomacy/#_ednref10>
Diplomatic
Missions Data collected from:
1. Kenya Foreign Ministry:
http://213.198.57.244/Kenya-Missions-abroad.69.0.html
2. Uganda Foreign Ministry:
http://www.mofa.go.ug/# <
http://www.mofa.go.ug/>
3. Eritrea AU Mission:
https://twitter.com/EritreaAU/status<
https://twitter.com/EritreaAU/status/439699584340611072/photo/1>
4. Sudan Foreign Ministry:
http://www.mfa.gov.sd/index.php/2008-01-24-11-46-41.html
5. Tanzania Foreign Ministry:
http://www.foreign.go.tz/index.php/missions/
6. Ethiopia Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
http://www.mfa.gov.et<
http://www.mfa.gov.et/abouttheministry.php?pg=6#vdo>
[xi]<
http://africabusiness.com/2014/03/17/eritrea-global-ties-and-diplomacy/#_ednref11>
Union
of International Associations and Yearbook of International Organizations
See:
http://www.uia.org/
Received on Mon Mar 17 2014 - 10:53:04 EDT
