Observations on Eritrea and its relations with Tigray, 2003 article

OLD PROBLEMS IN NEW CONFLICTS: SOME OBSERVATIONS ON ERITREA AND ITS RELATIONS WITH TIGRAY, FROM LIBERATION STRUGGLE TO INTER-STATE WAR, a 2003 article by Richard Reid

"There can be few more sensitive or emotive subject-matters in the field of African studies today than the attempt to explore relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia in general, and between Eritrea and Tigray, in northern Ethiopia, in particular..."

"The purpose of this paper is to offer some observations on a relationship (or perhaps several contemporaneous and intertwined relationships) between two regions, two peoples, two political movements-a relationship (or relationships) which has (or have) defined a huge swathe of the Hom of Africa over the last generation, and indeed beyond. The focal point of the paper is Eritrea, its relations with, and perceptions of, Tigray. It is not intended to be exhaustive: truly exhaustive work on this topic could not be contained within a single article. It represents, rather, some thoughts based on a handful of key documents, field interviews and less 'formal' informants (deliberately not high-ranking officials, as their views have been well-aired), and a range of secondary literature much of which, indeed, has been so necessarily contemporary that it can be classed as a kind of alternative body of primary source material, certainly in terms of assessing outside perceptions of the relationship under study. The paper will hopefully serve to push the argument toward a synthesis of understanding..."

http://dro.dur.ac.uk/397/1/397.pdf