Oscillating Imaginaries: War, Peace, and the Precarious Relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia

While the 2018 peace declaration between Ethiopia and Eritrea was widely celebrated, Eritrean refugees expressed concern that peace would be destabilising, and their status in Ethiopia would change. Their concerns were shaped by a long history of oscillating imaginaries of how Eritrea “fits” with E...

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Main Authors: Amanda Poole, Jennifer Ann Riggan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Hradec Králové 2022-08-01
Series:Modern Africa
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.uhk.cz/modernafrica/article/view/228
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author Amanda Poole
Jennifer Ann Riggan
author_facet Amanda Poole
Jennifer Ann Riggan
author_sort Amanda Poole
collection DOAJ
description While the 2018 peace declaration between Ethiopia and Eritrea was widely celebrated, Eritrean refugees expressed concern that peace would be destabilising, and their status in Ethiopia would change. Their concerns were shaped by a long history of oscillating imaginaries of how Eritrea “fits” with Ethiopia. Drawing from historical analysis and ethnographic fieldwork leading up to the peace agreement, we explore how these oscillating imaginaries create an uncomfortable and unstable situation for Eritreans in Ethiopia, rendering refugees vulnerable to unpredictable violence. Better understanding the way identity categories have been subject to constant slippage and have been instrumentalised by political elites could help to forge a more peaceful future among Ethiopia’s nationalities and between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
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spelling doaj-art-0201805e784a40f982d000351dc0435f2025-08-20T02:57:08ZengUniversity of Hradec KrálovéModern Africa2336-32742570-75582022-08-0110110.26806/modafr.v10i1.413Oscillating Imaginaries: War, Peace, and the Precarious Relations between Eritrea and EthiopiaAmanda Poole0Jennifer Ann Riggan1Indiana University of Pennsylvania, United States of AmericaArcadia University, United States of America While the 2018 peace declaration between Ethiopia and Eritrea was widely celebrated, Eritrean refugees expressed concern that peace would be destabilising, and their status in Ethiopia would change. Their concerns were shaped by a long history of oscillating imaginaries of how Eritrea “fits” with Ethiopia. Drawing from historical analysis and ethnographic fieldwork leading up to the peace agreement, we explore how these oscillating imaginaries create an uncomfortable and unstable situation for Eritreans in Ethiopia, rendering refugees vulnerable to unpredictable violence. Better understanding the way identity categories have been subject to constant slippage and have been instrumentalised by political elites could help to forge a more peaceful future among Ethiopia’s nationalities and between Ethiopia and Eritrea. https://journals.uhk.cz/modernafrica/article/view/228multiple nationalismsslippery citizenshipvulnerability of refugeesthe precarity of peacethe politics of war
spellingShingle Amanda Poole
Jennifer Ann Riggan
Oscillating Imaginaries: War, Peace, and the Precarious Relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia
Modern Africa
multiple nationalisms
slippery citizenship
vulnerability of refugees
the precarity of peace
the politics of war
title Oscillating Imaginaries: War, Peace, and the Precarious Relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia
title_full Oscillating Imaginaries: War, Peace, and the Precarious Relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia
title_fullStr Oscillating Imaginaries: War, Peace, and the Precarious Relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Oscillating Imaginaries: War, Peace, and the Precarious Relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia
title_short Oscillating Imaginaries: War, Peace, and the Precarious Relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia
title_sort oscillating imaginaries war peace and the precarious relations between eritrea and ethiopia
topic multiple nationalisms
slippery citizenship
vulnerability of refugees
the precarity of peace
the politics of war
url https://journals.uhk.cz/modernafrica/article/view/228
work_keys_str_mv AT amandapoole oscillatingimaginarieswarpeaceandtheprecariousrelationsbetweeneritreaandethiopia
AT jenniferannriggan oscillatingimaginarieswarpeaceandtheprecariousrelationsbetweeneritreaandethiopia