Colonialism and the Construction of National Identities: The Case of Eritrea

The starting point of this paper is that, in spite of the common agreement on the relevance of Italian rule on the political and social shaping of Eritrea, little investigation has been carried out to analyse the political, juridical and economical, nature of the colonial system in Eritrea and its impact on Eritrean society. The discussion focuses on the structure and strategies of the colonial state which is identified as a privileged instrument for the analysis and understanding of the colonial experience as it was the colonial state that provided the legal and economic framework for the implementation of colonial policies. In this context special attention is given to the practice of developing alternative juridical and institutional system for the colonial subjects which the author describes as both a key aspect of the development and consolidation of colonial powers and a crucial factor in moulding new identities. The final part discusses the relations between colonial state and local elites. It is in fact a common assumption that one of the main negative consequences of the harsh policies adopted by Italian colonialism in order to frustrate Eritrean aspiration and access to education was the lack of a developed local elite able to bridge Eritrea from colonialism to the post-colonial society. The author suggests that this statement, though correct from a general point of view, might become an unsubstantiated ideological assumption if not put in the appropriate context. It is in fact apparent that, in spite of repressive colonial policies a small and “informal” Eritrean elite grew up during the 51 years of official Italian colonial rule and many members of this germinal “elite” played an important role in post-colonial Eritrea.