Eritrea, a small country with a strategic location in the volatile Horn of Africa, won liberation in 1991 through an armed struggle that had lasted 30 years, and declared independence in 1993 following a referendum. Having waged an epic struggle however, Eritrea today is littered with the shards of broken expectations, broken promises and broken hopes of freedom, justice, and progress. Twenty-two years past de facto independence, the Eritrean people continue to endure and Eritrea’s youth strive to escape the caprices of despotic rule, harsh oppression and perennial insecurity. Wrong policy choices and wasted opportunities have forfeited Eritrea’s potential to grow into a prosperous regional entrepôt and hub of industry, commerce and services and, instead, immersed it in a state of abject poverty and comprehensive insolation.

The land of modern Eritrea has a long history as a cradle and hub of the old Axumite civilisation. Eritrea at a Crossroads: A Narrative of Triumph, Betrayal, and Hope presents a brief outline of the evolution of Eritrea as an upshot of the colonial implant of the Westphalian order on African soil. It sketches Eritrea’s long journey to self-determination, impeded by constant acts of external intervention. It narrates a story of heroic triumph in struggle and of dismal failure in victory. It assesses the record of the post-independence government and makes the case for renewal and the reconstruction of a functional democratic state to meet the age-old yearnings of the Eritrean people for peace, freedom, justice and prosperity via real empowerment. As the alpha of eighteen chapters, Chapter 1: Introduction provides as a concise summary of each succeeding chapter.