Eritrea's relations with the Sudan since 1991

Abstract

Eritrea's relations with its neighbor on the west and north - the Sudan, have seen both ups and downs. Historically, many aspects of social, cultural and economic linkages have been the shared features of the people's of these two countries making them interdependent in many ways. Politically there was a time when the Sudan intensively supported Eritrea's liberation struggle and built cordial relations with post-independent Eritrea. However, a closer look at their bilateral relationship during the decade under study reveals a pattern that is not befitting what can be commonly expected of between countries with such historic ties; rather it has seen frequent clashes primarily at the political level preventing them from developing and consolidating their age-old historical and cultural relations. Of particular note is the triangular configuration of relationship between Eritrea on the one hand and Ethiopia and the Sudan on the other hand that has determined in a big way their bilateral relations that each of them had with the other. Analyzing the ups and downs in relationship could bring out the “strategic concerns” that defined their ties and therefore, to understand this, this article first gives a brief survey of the past relationship in order to highlight the role and impact it has on contemporary relationship between them. The post-independent cordiality and the period of irritant relationship are brought out next to describe and highlight the trend and finally, the normalization of relations is discussed and conclusions put forward.