'Dreams don't come true in Eritrea': anomie and family disintegration due to the structural militarisation of society

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Periodical article

Title:	'Dreams don't come true in Eritrea': anomie and family disintegration due to the structural militarisation of society
Authors:	Hirt, Nicole Saleh Mohammad, Abdulkader
Year:	2013
Periodical:	Journal of Modern African Studies (ISSN 0022-278X)
Volume:	51
Issue:	1
Pages:	139-168
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Eritrea
Subjects:	forced labour militarism social disorganization People's Front for Democracy and Justice values
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/43302023
Abstract:	This article analyses contemporary Eritrea's acute crisis within the framework of the theory of anomie. It is based on the hypothesis that militarization, forced labour, mass exodus and family disintegration can be interpreted as the consequences of two incompatible norm and value systems: the collectivist, nationalistic and militaristic worldview of the former liberation front and ruling party People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), and the traditional cultural system of Eritrea's society. In 2002 the regime introduced an unlimited 'development campaign', thereby forcing large parts of the society to live as conscripts and perform unpaid labour. This has caused a mass exodus of young people and a rapid process of family disintegration. The article is based on empirical fieldwork and evaluates the ongoing developments which have led to rapid economic decline and the destabilization of the entire fabric of society. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]