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The Search for National Identity in Postcolonial, Multicommunal States: the Cases of Eritrea and Lebanon,1941-1991

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The Search for National Identity in Postcolonial, Multicommunal States: the Cases of Eritrea and Lebanon,1941-1991 The London School of Economics and Political Science The search for national identity in postcolonial, multicommunal states: the cases of Eritrea and Lebanon,1941-1991 Laura R. Ryseck A thesis submitted to the Department of International History of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy London, June 2014 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of <99,923> words. Statement of use of third party for editorial help I can confirm that my thesis was copy edited for conventions of language, spelling and grammar by Ms Sue Redgrave. Abstract This thesis is a comparative analysis of the process of national identity formation in Eritrea and Lebanon, examining the different paths both societies took after the end of the European colonial/mandate regimes up until the early 1990s. Grounded in theories relating to the concepts of nationalism and national identity, a contrast-orient history approach is taken that seeks to unpack the international, regional, and domestic factors that impacted on the formation of national identity in both cases. The creation of both countries by their respective colonial and mandate power, Italy and France, took place under different circumstances and by different means. Yet in both cases different communities, half of which were Muslim and the other half Christian, were joined under a single administration. The fact that in both Eritrea and Lebanon one of the communities had nationalist aspirations linked to the larger neighbouring political entity of co-religionists hampered the transfer of allegiances to the newly created entity and the development of a cohesive national identity in the wake of being granted self-determination. This thesis argues that, despite their different treatment by the international community with regards to their right to self-determination, a form of syncretistic nationalism developed in the territorial entities created by the colonial/mandate powers in both Eritrea and Lebanon. While Lebanon was able to obtain independence from the French in 1943, Eritrea was not granted independence after the defeat of their colonial master, Italy. Instead, federation and finally annexation by Ethiopia resulted in thirty years of liberation struggle. Thus this thesis affirms the aptness of the concept of syncretistic nationalism for multi- communal societies while attesting to the difficulties of its development and realisation through the analysis of the process of national identity formation in Eritrea and Lebanon. To my family, whose love and support means everything. 4 TABLE OF CONTENT Acknowledgements 6 List of Abbreviations 8 Note on transliteration and translations 10 INTRODUCTION 11 Chapter 1: (Pre-)Colonial state-building 45 Chapter 2: Towards independence? 80 Chapter 3: The discourse on identity: Whence one nation? 119 Chapter 4: Unity, diversity, or unity in diversity: Political parties and movements 153 Chapter 5: Civil War and Violence: Whither the nation? 197 Chapter 6: A nation in a world of nations?: External influences 233 Chapter 7: Education: Shaping or breaking national identity 268 CONCLUSION 304 BIBLIOGRAPHY 309 5 Acknowledgements Since embarking on this project, I have been helped and encouraged intellectually as well as personally by numerous friends and colleagues along the way. All the individuals that directly or indirectly contributed to my thesis are too many to list, yet the most important should not go unmentioned. First of all I want to thank my supervisor Dr Kirsten Schulze for her support and guidance in completing this work. Furthermore, thanks have to go to Nayna Bhatti who always had an open ear and helped solving administrative problems without any hassle. I would like to acknowledge and thank the Emirates Foundation that supported my research during the academic year 2010/2011, and the Middle East Center at the LSE for giving me a space to work. Without it this task would have been so much lonelier. The financial support by the Department of International History also has to be mentioned, it enabled me to embark on this project in the first place. In Eritrea I would like to thank first and foremost my dear friends that made me feel so at home in Asmara and supported me with all the practical things needed. Without all of them, my research trips to Eritrea would have been lonely and frustrating endeavors. Special thanks go to Beniam for opening his house to me for several months. Thanks also go to the staff of the RDC, Asmara, who tried to make research as smooth as possible. My friends in Lebanon also have to be mentioned. Thanks for all your support in my research, and for cheering me up when things looked difficult. Special thanks must go to Kamal Abouchedid and Nemer Frayha who both helped me enormously in the research for my chapter on education, and kamal Abou Chedid who helped me finding people willing to answer my questionnaire. Surprisingly I found the Orient Institut in Beirut the best source for my studies, and I am indebted to Dr Marcel Behrens who 6 allowed me to stay in the library after opening hours on so many occasions. Much credit must also go to the staff of the UMAM for their help in my research. Last but not least, I want to thank Erin McBurney and Dr Robert Barnes for their editing help with the first draft of my thesis, as well as their encouragement and support during the final stages, especially Erin who made herself available for last-minute editing and moral support. The same is true for Sue Redgrave who edited the final version of this thesis. I would also like to thank Maroun, Rui, Danial, Misghie, Xenia, and of course Yemane for encouraging me to never give up and supporting me in so many ways. My family who always looks after the most important things in life when I am busy with research; they are my biggest inspiration. I am confident that the views and content of all my sources (primary and secondary) are presented accurately and duly acknowledge. For any potential misrepresentations and/or analytical and factual errors I take sole responsibility, of course. 7 List of Abbreviations Eritrea BMA - British Military Administration ELA - Eritrean Liberation Army ELM - Eritrean Liberation Movement ELF - Eritrean Liberation Front ELF-GC - Eritrean Liberation Front - General Command ELF-GS - Eritrean Liberation Front – General Secretariat ELF-PLF - Eritrean Liberation Front - People’s Liberation Forces ELF-RC - Eritrean Liberation Front – Revolutionary Council ELF-SC - Eritrean Liberation Front – Supreme Council EPLF - Eritrean People’s Liberation Front EPRDF - Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front ERA - Eritrean Relief Association GPDRE - Government of the Peoples’ Democratic Republic of Ethiopia IP - Independence Bloc LPP - Liberal Progressive Party MFH - Mahber Feqri Hager (Association for the Love of the Country) ML - Muslim League OAU - Organization of African Unity OLF - Oromo Liberation Front PDRY - People's Democratic Republic of Yemen PFDJ - People’s Front for Democracy and Justice TPLF - Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front TU - Tripartite Unity UP - Unionist Party 8 Lebanon ADF - Arab Deterrent Force AUB - American University of Beirut CGTL - Confédération Générale des Travailleurs Libanais LAA - Lebanese Arab Army LAF - Lebanese Armed Forces LNM - Lebanese National Movement LF - Lebanese Front /Lebanese Forces MNF - Multi-National Force NLP - National Liberal Party PLA - Palestine Liberation Army PLO - Palestine Liberation Organization PSP - Progressive Socialist Party SSNP - Syrian Social Nationalist Party UAR - United Arab Republic UNIFIL - United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon 9 Note on translations and transliteration All translations from non-English sources have been made by the author with the exception of material in Tigrinya which was kindly translated by Daniel Isaac and Brook Tesfai. The spelling of Arabic and Tigrinya personal and place-names has been based on the most common practice used in the secondary literature. Other Arabic words have been transliterated in accordance with the standard applied by The International Journal of Middle East Studies, while Tigrinya words have been transliterated as most commonly applied by Tigrinya native speakers. 10 Introduction During a press conference in Beirut in April 1971, one of Eritrea’s earliest nationalists, Woldeab Woldemariam, noted that aside from the struggle for self-determination and liberation from Ethiopian control, the Eritrean people still had to overcome religious and regional divisions and to develop a cohesive national identity in order to achieve complete national unity. With regards to this task, he pointed out the similarity between Eritrea and the country where the press conference was held, Lebanon: Some one [sic] has called Eritrea’The Lebanon of East-Africa’. I think the comparison arised [sic] not only from the similarity of the mountainous terren [sic] of the two countries, but also and especially from the similarity of the religious, social, cultural, traditional and even radical formation of their respective populations. In fact, as in the case of the Lebanese Communities, the Eritrean population is divided into equal number of Christians and Moslems and each Community enjoys its own culture, traditions and social system. As the Lebanese Communities did in the past, the Eritrean communities speak two different languages.
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