Civil-Military Relationship within the Eritrean Armed Forces

Abstract: Since the inception of the modern state, civil-military relationships have been an important and critical factor of stability for the state. The nature and quality of the relationship between the civilian and military leaders can assist a state with bringing forth a peaceful environment or plaguing the citizens of that state with endless suffering which is synonymous with armed conflicts. As we can witness in our world, in Africa, Europe, Latin America or the Middle East armed conflicts have been an integral part of politics and international relations between states    In this thesis, I shall examine the civil-military relationship within the Eritrean armed forces. I will use the state of Eritrea as my case study. The fundamental rationale for me selecting Eritrea as my case for this study is based upon the miniscule amount of academic research regarding the civil-military relationship within the Eritrean armed forces. This thesis will strive to generate a broader understanding of the relationship between the civilian leaders and military leaders of the state of Eritrea and how that relationship affects the Eritrean armed forces on the battlefield. The theoretical framework I shall apply to inquire into the civil-military relationship within the Eritrean armed forces, will be the theories of Objective civilian control and Subjective civilian control. While applying a qualitative case study method for this thesis. The thesis finds that the civil-military relationship structure within the Eritrean armed forces have been revolving around the president, Isaias Afwerki. Afwerki routinely micromanages the affairs of the military.