Eritrea

Eritrea emerged from its long war of independence in 1993 only to plunge once again into military conflict, first with Yemen and then, more devastatingly, with its old adversary, Ethiopia (BBC 2006r, par. 1). Eritrea has never participated with any type of contribution in UN peacekeeping operations. Since June 2000, the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) has been present in the country (UN 2005d, par. 1). The main reason why Eritrea does not contribute troops is due to domestic politics. The internal political environment has been dominated by pressing concerns about food security over recent years, and domestic issues have been overshadowed by the country’s hostile relations with Ethiopia, where the border dispute continues despite the resolution of the military conflict (EIU 2006p, 3). Eritrea’s internal political environment and foreign policy agenda, coupled with instability in the horn of Africa, make it impossible for the country to participate with troops.

Initial variables of the data collection process:

UN/UN peacekeeping policy reform
No record.

Perception of peacekeeping
No record.

Domestic political environment
Senior members of the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) joined the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) following independence from Ethiopia in 1993 to form the all-encompassing People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), which remains dominant in Eritrea’s emerging democracy (Ibid.).

The transition towards parliamentary democracy has been slow, with continued postponement of national elections first scheduled for December 2001 and continued restrictions on political freedoms. Domestic politics has been dominated by pressing concerns about food security over recent years, and domestic issues have been overshadowed by the country’s hostile relations with Ethiopia, where the border dispute continues despite the resolution of the military conflict. (Ibid.)

The dominance of the PFDJ is expected to continue (EIU 2006bm, 1).

Domestic economic environment
Prioritizing development has been the main issue. Eritrean economic policy has focused on developing infrastructure and improving food security, both with little success (EIU 2006p, 14). The government is theoretically striving to achieve an economy led by the private sector, as demonstrated by the liberal land and investment laws that were passed in 1994 (Ibid.).

Military affairs
Almost 50,000 EPLF fighters were demobilized soon after independence, and the regular armed forces were estimated to total 46,000 in 1997 (Ibid., 10). Following the outbreak of war with Ethiopia, mass conscription increased the estimated number of soldiers (including women) to 250,000 in May 2000 (Ibid.). Nevertheless, it is still problematic to send troops to UN peace operations. The planned demobilization of troops following the June 2000 ceasefire with Ethiopia has seen only limited progress and the armed forces still totaled over 200,000 in 2004—the original target was to bring the total armed forces down to around 50,000 soldiers (Ibid.).

Foreign policy
Although the EPLF had little international support during its campaign for independence, the new government established good relations with Eritrea’s neighbors, including Ethiopia, and with the US, Europe, the Gulf States and Asia (Ibid., 8).

In mid-1998 Eritrea’s relations with Ethiopia deteriorated over the disputed Yirga Triangle border area. Large-scale military conflict ensued, involving armed clashes in several border areas and air raids on military and civilian targets on both sides, before a peace agreement was signed in Algiers in December 2000. The absence of political dialogue between the two countries has caused international concern and relations remain hostile, with official dialogue conducted only through the Military Co-ordination Commission of UNMEE, and direct mail and telephone channels closed. Agreement on a date for border demarcation to commence had still not been reached in May 2006. (Ibid., 9)

Diplomatic relations with Sudan were severed, and the common border closed, in October 2002, but a rapprochement that began in October 2005 resulted in both countries raising their diplomatic representation to the ambassadorial level in March 2006 (Ibid., 8). Somalia has been helped to restore diplomatic relations in the region.

The reconciliation with Sudan was in part thanks to Yemen, which in December 2004 invited Eritrea to join the Sanaa Forum for Co-operation—a regional grouping formed in October 2002 and made up of Yemen, Ethiopia and Sudan—to defuse accusations by Eritrea that the group had belligerent intentions towards it. Eritrea joined the Arab League as an observer in January 2003. (Ibid., 9)

Additional variables found after the preliminary analysis:

Climate changes
No record.

Independent negotiations taken by DPKO to seek troops
No record.

Independent negotiations taken by contributor countries to engage non-contributor countries
No record.

Meetings organized by other international organizations to engage in dialogue about peacekeeping
No record.