Afterword – The Black Box of Eritrean Futurity

Abstract

In summarising the contributions of the present issue this brief afterword considers our understanding of futurity in Eritrea. It describes how politics both inside and outside of Eritrea are in many ways harnessed by a mode of representationalism that is immersed in discarding and signifying particular historical events, and marking notable political struggles as improper, seemingly with an oddly foreclosed future in mind. Secondly, it highlights the institutional apparatus of the Eritrean president Isaias Afewerki as something of a black box. While the internal workings of the regime remain opaque, it is increasingly generative for the longevity of his leadership and an exclusive framing of “Eritreanness.” Yet, this afterword suggests that futurity in Eritrea is contingent on those illegible events and subjects that remain unaccounted for – nevertheless, perhaps contained somewhere in that “black box” of contemporary Eritrean governance.

Keywords

• Eritrean opposition
• social media
• activism
• human rights
• civic society