Unionists and Separatists

Book excerpt: Based on a broad range of local and foreign archival sources, Shumet Sishagne s Unionists and Separatists, presents a comprehensive account of the history of Ethio-Eritrean relations over the last half of the twentieth century. Starting with the end of Italian colonialism in Eritrea in 1941 and the struggle that ensued thereafter to determine the future of Eritrea, the book traces the evolution of domestic and external forces that decisively influenced the Eritrean political landscape. It examines closely the circumstances behind the creation of the Ethio-Eritrean federation and the challenges that brought it down. It provides a vivid description of the birth and growth of the Eritrean insurgency, the course of the prolonged and bitter civil war between rival Eritrean guerrilla factions, the failure of the Ethiopian government s handling of the problem in Eritrea, and the process through which the Eritrean People s Liberation Front (EPLF) succeeded in imposing its hegemony over the Eritrean political arena. Unionists and Separatists is the definitive history of the tragic and complicated relationship between Ethiopia and Eritrea.