Tag: citizenship
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Why Must We Be Represented to Be Safe
What the demand for “one of our own” reveals about political power Abstract This is the first article in my newly started Awate column, The Hidden Premise. I examine the conception of power beneath debates about representation: why should a community need “one of its own” in office to remain safe? I distinguish recognition, participation,…
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The Gettysburg Lesson Eritrea Never Learned
What separates genuine leadership from the exploitation of sacrifice? Using Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address as a historical reference point, this essay examines the moral power of leadership during times of national crisis and contrasts it with Eritrea’s post-independence experience. It explores freedom, citizenship, remembrance, national unity, and the responsibility owed to those who sacrificed their…
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The Grammar of Promise: How Eritrean Political Thought Became Trapped Inside Its Own Logic
“The most dangerous moment for a bad government is when it begins to reform.” – Alexis de Tocqueville Summary Eritrean political life, spanning both the ruling party and the opposition, is organized around a shared underlying logic: that sacrifice generates the right to govern, and that those who fail to honor that sacrifice must be…