State-Building In Post-Liberation Eritrea explores the potentials, achievements and challenges facing Eritrea in its efforts to construct a viable state after it became independent in 1991(de facto) and 1993 (de jure). It also examines the post-liberation experience of state building focusing on the institutionalisation, bureaucratisation and democratisation of state organs. The Eritrean state's legitimacy and popularity initially rested on the track record of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front's (EPLF), its efficiency, organisational skill, and capacity to mobilise the population; which spawned hopes and optimism about the future. The book also analyses what happened to those great hopes and optimisms by examining its achievements and failures in this regard. It equally analyses the role played by external factors, particularly the second war with Ethiopia, and its implications for state building in Eritrea.
