Posts Tagged ‘eritrea’

Two of Africa’s lesser known nations are embroiled in a border dispute over a dusty patch of the Horn of Africa. According to the New York Times, Djibouti and Eritrea have troops stationed face-to-face in a strategic coastal region which controls access to the important shipping lanes through the Red Sea. The Eritrean domestic situation has been exceedingly dismal and some observers attest that this new geopolitical conflict has been designed to distract disgruntled citizens.

This distasteful tactic is well-known to any student of history: too often nationalism is cultivated to put off needed reforms. The creation of an “other” serves to unify the state into a body whereby their own disagreements are ignored, not solved.

However, as the original article is quick to point out, amidst the excruciatingly arcane politics of geographic disputes is the fact that both the United States and France support Djibouti and maintain military presences there. Given the Eritrean leader’s new bilateral agreements with Iran, and America’s support for Eritrea’s foe, Ethiopia, in recent disputes with Somalia, it is unlikely the West will look kindly on displays of Eritrean force.

[Photo: Jehad Nga for The New York Times]