Eritrea Under Issaias: Voluntary Servitude or Coerced Silence?

By Dr. Gebre Gebremariam

Eritrea Under Issaias: Voluntary Servitude or Coerced Silence?
Dr. Gebre Gebremariam

The Mechanism of Authoritarian Longevity in Eritrea: The enduring grip of Issaias Afeworki's regime on Eritrea presents a stark and agonizing paradox. Decades of well-documented, severe human rights abuses – indefinite conscription resembling slavery, arbitrary detentions, torture, the absence of basic freedoms – coexist with a public sphere largely devoid of overt, unified mass resistance. While pockets of dissent undoubtedly exist, often expressed bravely by individuals or through covert networks and the diaspora, the lack of a powerful, internally cohesive opposition movement capable of challenging the PFDJ's dominance raises difficult questions. Observing this seeming quiescence, one might cautiously invoke Étienne de La Boétie's 16th-century concept of "Discours de la servitude volontaire" or "Discourse on Voluntary Servitude."¹ La Boétie argued that tyrants hold power not merely through brute force, but because the populace, astonishingly, consents to its own subjugation. Applying this framework to Eritrea requires extreme caution, as it risks blaming the victims of profound state terror. However, using "voluntary servitude" not as a literal accusation of willing submission, but as an analytical lens to examine the mechanisms that foster acquiescence – habit, manipulation, co-option, and the internalization of powerlessness alongside overwhelming fear – can illuminate the complex interplay sustaining the dictatorship's longevity and the apparent weakness of popular opposition.

La Boétie posited that once freedom is lost, subsequent generations born into servitude may simply not know what they are missing. Habit and customs become powerful forces entrenching the status quo. In Eritrea's case, the historical trajectory lends itself to this interpretation. The EPLF's highly disciplined, hierarchical structure, necessary for military victory during the liberation struggle, became the unquestioned model for post-independence governance under the PFDJ. Decades of struggle conditioned the population to prioritize unity, sacrifice, and obedience to the leadership that promised liberation. Critically, the promised transition to constitutional democracy was indefinitely postponed. This means that anyone under the age of 35-40 has no memory of a time before the PFDJ's absolute rule or the state of perpetual emergency. The suspension or non-implementation of the 1997 ratified constitution, the absence of elections, and the omnipresence of indefinite national service are not aberrations; they are the norm into which generations have been socialized. This normalization, this deep familiarity with unfreedom, can breed a sense of resignation. The extraordinary becomes ordinary. Challenging the system may seem not just dangerous, but almost unnatural, akin to questioning the very air one breathes. This isn't stupidity, but the profound psychological impact of living entirely within an authoritarian framework, fostering a passive acceptance that resembles La Boétie's description of servitude born from custom.

La Boétie also highlighted the role of manipulation and distraction in securing consent. Tyrants, he noted, use "bread and circuses," propaganda, and the cultivation of nationalistic fervor to divert attention from oppression and manufacture loyalty. The Eritrean regime has proven exceptionally adept at this. The narrative of perpetual external threat, primarily focused on the threats from Ethiopia (even after the so called 2018 peace agreement, which brought little domestic change) and nebulous "external enemies," serves as a constant justification for emergency measures and the suppression of dissent. Patriotism is relentlessly conflated with unwavering loyalty to Issaias and the PFDJ. State-controlled media bombards the populace with propaganda, glorifying the leader, celebrating national achievements (often exaggerated or fabricated), and demonizing critics as traitors or foreign agents. This constant manipulation aims to shape perception, making citizens feel indebted to or protective of the regime, even amidst suffering. It fosters a siege mentality where internal critique is perceived as weakening the nation against its enemies. Participating in state-organized festivals or expressing nationalist sentiment, even if partially coerced, can create a psychological feedback loop, reinforcing a connection to the very system causing hardship. This orchestrated manipulation encourages a form of complicity – not necessarily active agreement, but a passive participation in the regime's narrative framework, making organized opposition based on shared grievances harder to coalesce.

Furthermore, La Boétie observed that tyrants solidify their rule by co-opting a segment of the population, creating a hierarchy where numerous individuals derive small benefits or privileges from the system's continuation. This "pyramid of tyranny" ensures that the dictator relies not just on his immediate enforcers, but on a wider network with a vested interest, however minor, in maintaining the status quo. In Eritrea, this structure is evident. The PFDJ is not merely a political party, but an entity interwoven with the state and military apparatus, extending its reach into local communities (both inside Eritrea and in the Diaspora). Local administrators, party cadres, members of the pervasive surveillance network (including neighbors spying on neighbors), and those in positions within the national service hierarchy all possess a degree of authority or privilege, however small or precarious, derived from the regime. Fear of losing this position, coupled with the potential for minor gains through loyalty, can incentivize compliance and reporting on others. This system doesn't necessarily create enthusiastic supporters, but it fosters widespread dependency and discourages defiance. Individuals may comply not out of ideological conviction, but because their immediate survival or relative standing within the oppressive system depends on it. This creates a complex web of complicity and fear that atomizes society and makes collective resistance incredibly difficult, mirroring La Boétie's description of how servitude is perpetuated through a structure of distributed, self-interested compliance.

However, it is crucial to confront the limitations of the "voluntary servitude" framework when faced with the sheer brutality of the Eritrean state. La Boétie focused more on the psychological and social mechanisms of consent, perhaps underestimating the raw power of overwhelming, systematic terror in crushing the will to resist. The Eritrean regime's use of arbitrary arrest, indefinite detention in horrific conditions, torture, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings is not merely a tool to punish dissenters; it is a calculated strategy to induce pervasive, paralyzing fear throughout the entire population. The notorious prison system (Eiraeiro, Adi Abeto, etc.) serves as a terrifying symbol of the potential consequences of stepping out of line. The shoot-to-kill policy at the borders, targeting those attempting to flee indefinite conscription, underscores the life-or-death stakes involved in defying the state.

This pervasive fear fundamentally alters the calculus of resistance. When the price of speaking out, organizing, or even questioning is potentially torture, disappearance, or death for oneself and retribution against one's family, silence becomes a rational, albeit tragic, survival strategy. It is difficult to categorize silence under such extreme duress as truly "voluntary." Fear atomizes society, destroying the trust necessary for collective action. Individuals become isolated, suspicious even of neighbors and relatives, making the organization required for any meaningful resistance movement nearly impossible to achieve from within. The constant surveillance ensures that nascent dissent can be identified and quashed before it gains momentum. In this context, the lack of visible mass resistance is less an indicator of consent or voluntary servitude in its purest sense, and more a testament to the regime's chilling effectiveness in using terror to enforce obedience and preemptively dismantle opposition. The "choice" is often between silent suffering and catastrophic risk.

Therefore, while elements described by La Boétie – the normalization of oppression through habit, the effectiveness of manipulation and propaganda, and the co-option of individuals into the system – certainly play a role in explaining the dynamics of sustained rule and the apparent weakness of resistance, they operate within an overarching framework of involuntary coercion maintained by extreme violence and the constant threat thereof. The "servitude" observed in Eritrea is heavily conditioned, perhaps even primarily driven, by the rational fear of annihilation rather than a freely given, albeit misguided, consent.

In a nutshell, the question of why popular resistance against Eritrea's dictatorship appears weak is profoundly complex and resists easy answers. Viewing it through the lens of Étienne de La Boétie's "Voluntary Servitude" offers partial insights, particularly regarding how historical conditioning, long-term habituation to unfreedom, sophisticated manipulation of nationalism, and the co-option of certain individuals contribute to a climate of acquiescence and make overt opposition seem unthinkable or futile for many. The normalization of the PFDJ's rule over generations, coupled with incessant propaganda and a structure that creates dependency, fosters dynamics that resemble the voluntary acceptance La Boétie described.

However, this framework must be heavily qualified and used with extreme sensitivity. The qualifier "voluntary" strains credulity when confronted with the Eritrean regime's systematic use of extreme violence, torture, and terror. The pervasive fear generated by the state security apparatus is arguably the single most significant factor paralyzing the population (including Eritreans in the Diaspora) and inhibiting collective action. This fear transforms potential resistance into a suicidal act for many, making silence a deeply ingrained survival mechanism rather than a passive choice. The servitude, therefore, while potentially built on foundations of habit and manipulation, is ultimately cemented by involuntary coercion of the most brutal kind.

The complex interplay sustaining the Eritrean dictatorship involves both the subtle mechanisms La Boétie identified – the chains of habit, the diversions of propaganda, the rewards of minor complicity – and the crude, terrifying force of the state's repressive apparatus. The apparent weakness of public resistance is not a simple reflection of societal apathy or willing submission. Rather, it is the tragic outcome of a sophisticated authoritarian system that has effectively combined historical manipulation with paralyzing fear, successfully atomizing its population and making the prospect of organized, internal change extraordinarily perilous. Understanding this interplay, acknowledging both the psychological conditioning and the omnipresent threat, is crucial for comprehending the depth of Eritrea's predicament and the immense courage required for any form of dissent, however muted it may appear from the outside.

Takeaways: The primary merit of the above piece lies in its sophisticated and intellectually rigorous approach to the complex paradox of Eritrean society under dictatorship. Rather than offering a simplistic explanation, Dr. Gebremariam deftly applies Étienne de La Boétie's classical concept of "Voluntary Servitude" not as a literal accusation, but as an analytical lens to dissect the subtle mechanisms of acquiescence, such as historical habituation, nationalist manipulation, and systematic co-option. The piece's greatest strength, however, is its critical self-awareness; it thoughtfully critiques the limitations of this framework, powerfully arguing that overwhelming state terror and a rational fear of annihilation transform servitude into a state of "coerced silence." By skillfully synthesizing these two perspectives, the piece moves beyond a binary choice of blame or victimhood to present a compelling, multi-layered analysis where psychological conditioning and brutal force are shown to be mutually reinforcing pillars of the regime's longevity. This nuanced balance makes the piece a sensitive yet sharp examination of one of the world's most enduring and tragic political situations.

The value of the piece for Eritreans actively trying to create an effective resistance is immense. It provides not just a condemnation of the regime, but a crucial strategic diagnosis of its survival mechanisms.

Here are some useful lessons that can be drawn from it:-

A) The Piece Provides a Blueprint of the Regime's Non-Military Power:

Effective resistance requires understanding the enemy's complete strategy. This piece argues that the PFDJ's power isn't just guns and prisons; it's a sophisticated system of psychological control. For justice seekers (the resistance movement), this means:

• A Shift in Focus: Resistance cannot only be about confronting the military/security state. It must also become a battle for hearts and minds.

• Identifying Vulnerabilities: The regime's reliance on propaganda, a manufactured siege mentality, and co-option are vulnerabilities. If the resistance can effectively counter the official narrative, they can weaken the regime's foundations without firing a single shot.

B) The Piece Offers Strategies for Countering Psychological Manipulation:

By identifying how the regime uses habit, propaganda, and co-option, the piece implicitly suggests counterstrategies:

• Countering Habituation: The resistance must constantly work to break the "normalization" of oppression. This means educating younger generations about the unimplemented constitution, sharing stories of life before the PFDJ's total control, and using examples to prove that the current situation is neither normal nor permanent. The goal is to make freedom imaginable again.

• Countering Propaganda: Justice seekers can develop targeted counter-narratives that expose the regime's lies. They must work to separate "patriotism" (love of Eritrea) from "loyalty to the PFDJ." By highlighting the regime's failures and corruption, they can dismantle the myth that the PFDJ is the sole protector of the nation.

C) The Piece Helps in Understanding and Fracturing the Support Base:

The concept of the "pyramid of tyranny" is strategically vital. It shows that the regime's support is not a monolith of true believers. Many people comply out of self-interest or fear. This allows the resistance to:

• Target a "Middle Ground": Instead of viewing everyone inside as either a hero or a collaborator, they can develop strategies to appeal to those who are silently complicit. They can create "off-ramps" by offering a vision of a future where these individuals won't be universally punished, thereby encouraging them to withdraw their support.

• Sow Division: By exposing how the top leadership benefits immensely while lower-level cadres receive mere scraps, the resistance movement can create cracks in this pyramid of co-option and loyalty.

D) The Piece Validates and Explains the Challenge of "Coerced Silence":

Crucially, the piece doesn't blame the victims. By emphasizing the role of overwhelming terror, it validates the experience of the people inside Eritrea. For the diaspora and internal activists, this is important because:

• It Builds Empathy and Unity: It prevents the diaspora from becoming frustrated with the perceived "inaction" of those inside, fostering a more profound understanding of the risks they face. This understanding is the bedrock of a unified movement.

• It Dictates a Strategy of Security: It underscores that open, mass resistance from within is currently suicidal. Therefore, effective strategies must prioritize secure, clandestine organizing, building trust in small, atomized cells, and leveraging the relative safety of the diaspora to provide information and resources.

In essence, the piece moves the conversation from reactive outrage to proactive strategy. It provides a framework for understanding why the population seems quiescent, allowing justice seekers to design targeted, intelligent, and realistic strategies that address both the psychological chains of "voluntary servitude" and the physical chains of "coerced silence." It is a tool for building a smarter, more resilient, and ultimately more effective resistance movement.

¹Étienne de La Boétie (1530-1563), Discours de la servitude volontaire (Discourse on Voluntary Servitude), c. 1552-1553. A seminal essay in political philosophy that explores the central paradox of why a vast populace obeys a single ruler. La Boétie argues that tyranny is not imposed by force alone but is actively upheld by the consent—or "voluntary servitude"—of the governed. He posits that if the people simply resolved to withdraw their support, the tyrant would collapse, as a colossus whose pedestal has been pulled away. The work is a foundational text for later theories of civil disobedience and non-violent resistance.

Read in PDF Here.

You may also want to see these:

UNCHAINING ERITREA: Breaking the Silence That Enabled Dictatorship in Eritrea. Part I.

UNCHAINING ERITREA: Breaking the Silence That Enabled Dictatorship in Eritrea. Part II.

See also more articles from Dr Gebre Gebremariam:

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