Hunt on Freedom of Speech in Eritrea as Gross Violation of Human Rights: assessing the 1993 - 2021 period

The emergence of Eritrea as an independent state in 1993 attracted attention of both scholars and policymakers, as it presented a good real-time opportunity to monitor the initial formation of a State in the post-Yalta-Potsdam system era. It was especially vital to observe this case of creation and development of new state institutions in Eritrea with a view to the worldwide debate on strengths and weaknesses of authoritarian rule in a post-Cold War world and its prospects. For many researchers, the issue of a political regime type in this newly formed state became a point of divergence. Within first decade after gaining independence, paradoxically, it became clear that Eritrea’s choice was for authoritarianism, and not any other regime type. 2001 has seen the largest national and international media shutdown campaign in Eritrea for the whole period of the country’ independence. In 2021, after more than 25 years of statebuilding (including 1998-2000 period of war with Ethiopia), Eritrea remains stable and\yet authoritarian. Thus, a question rises on how and why Eritrea maintains this consistency on fighting freedom of media – both internally and externally – and whether there are any domestic or international political risks rooted in it. Today the Committee to Protect Journalists has numerously called it the world’s “most censored country” and there are mounting reports of a "journalist's limbo" in Eritrea: no independent media is ever present and international broadcasting is banned or severely censored. Reporters Without Borders named Eritrea “Africa’s largest prison for media personnel”for several times after 2016 and more evidence of gross violation of a right of free speech in Eritrea is coming every day. To address this issue, this paper overlooks a more than 25 years’ period of developments of domestic policies in Eritrea with focus on media control and aims to give a general overview of the main pillars, as well as discontents and perspectives, of upholding authoritarian rule in this country, with a view to implications for regional security and development.