The Impact of the Eritrean-Ethiopian Border on the Borderland Communities (2000-2018): A case Study of Senafe and Tserona

From 1991 to 1998, Eritrea and Ethiopia had an open border policy allowing the free movement of people, goods and services. Both states relied on this propinquity to construct opportunities that benefited them in economic, social and political realms. But pondering on cross-border disputes, these benefits have not been resourced for the last 18 years, first because of the border war (1998-2000) and then the ‘no war, no peace’ situation (2000- 2018). By building up heavily-equipped armies, landmines, checkpoints and security agents, the two states have constructed a hard border between them. This has changed not only the form and function of the border but also the border regime, as border crossing became a critical national issue. This thesis therefore, is centered on the question: How does the change of border from once entirely open to a hard/closed border impact the border communities? The aim is to understand how the borderland communities, who have a long track of cross-border livelihood strategies, are impacted by the hard border and what strategies they adopted in order to make a living. The focus is the livelihoods of the borderland communities from the end of the border war on June 18, 2000, up to July 9, 2018. An ethnographic approach was used to allow for an in-depth study. The study sites were Tserona and Senafe, two Eritrean- Ethiopian border towns. I conducted three-rounds of fieldwork during the summer season of 2017 and the winter and autumn of 2018. This dissertation argues that the border closure had a crucial negative impact on the livelihoods of the borderland communities, because of the particular milieu generated by the ‘no war, no peace’ situation between Eritrea and Ethiopia over the last 18 years. Multiple layers of border controls and policing at the border by the two states, particularly by Eritrea, posed critical challenges to the livelihoods of people living on the Eritrean side of the border. The hardship was expressed in all aspects of their livelihood bases, including their financial, physical, social and human capital. Relying on these localized findings, this dissertation lays the groundwork for continued research into how borders function as barriers and constraints, and the dynamics of the inter- state relations that drive them.