National Security Challenges in the Horn of Africa

The young and small war born state of Eritrea is facing an all-round national security challengesfrom its inception. Its national security is seemingly very complex and difficult. The challenges are results of a complex historical evolutions and protracted conflicts both against external actors and among the Eritrean themselves. The nationalsecurity challenges of Eritrea are basically centered on the lack of agreed consensus among the Eritreans themselves on the idea of Eritrean state and Eritreanism.These divergent outlooks are the results of historical evolutions that traces back to the European colonialism, federation with Ethiopia and armed liberation struggle. post-independence nation-building from above under the principle of "onepeople, one heart"... also failed to integrate the existential realities of Eritrean multi-ethnic societies and their historical dichotomies... The post-independence militarization of the Sawa-"Warsay"- generation and securitization of the nation-building under the supervision of the Nakfa "Yika'alo"-generation resulted in aconflictual relation of the state of Eritrea with all its neighbors that inturn agravate its insecurity.