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Amare Tecle, ed., ERITREA AND ETHIOPIA: FROM CONFLICT TO COOPERATION (Lawrenceville, NJ.: Red Sea Press, 1994), 227 pages, paper $16.95.
This is the first volume about Ethiopia and Eritrea to appear since the overthrow of the Dergue in May 1991. The book contains eleven essays by ten scholars from the Horn of Africa. Five of the contributors are Eritreans, two are Ethiopians, one American, one Somali, and one Sudanese. Such diversity was helpful in minimizing the predictability of conclusions. The broader theme of the book is the prospect of cooperation in the Horn of Africa. Although the Eritrean declaration of independence in 1992 introduced a new player in the geopolitical equation of the region, the prospects for peace seem greater now than the prospects for violence and instability. Given such an opportune time, what is the likelihood that the yearning for peace will be materialized? In their own manner, the contributors attempt to give an answer to this perplexing regional problem.
The first and the last chapters are by the editor of the book, Amare Tecle. He sets the stage for the analysis by reflecting on regional integration in the traditional perspective. He cites such luminaries as Ernest Haas, David Mitrany, Karl Deutsch, Amitai Etzioni, Joseph Nye, and Robert Keohane to argue his case and to conclude that functional integration may provide the best chance for regional integration, not only between Ethiopia and Eritrea, but also for the whole Horn of Africa. The traditional scholars who provided the justification for Ethiopian hegemony in the Horn are referred to as rationalists. Amare argues that their approach, embellished by the "Greater Ethiopia" syndrome, overlooked the dilemma of intra- and interethnic asymmetries. According to Amare, "functionalism, or the incremental approach, manifests great advantage, because it helps us to take into account the reality of the Ethio-Eritrean conflict, to recognize the inherent differences between the two polities in socio-economic and political values and beliefs as well as psychological dispositions, to realistically assess the basic issues of contention and to make honest recommendations for the future relationship between the two countries" (p. 4). He then goes on to identify his three principles that can serve as catalysts for functional integration. They are self-determination, equality, and peaceful coexistence. He places...