ABSTRACT
The histories of Liberation Fronts in the Hom of Africa have yet to be critically examined. The existing literature, especially on Eritrea and Ethiopia, raises more questions than it can answer. Devoid of historical and comparative perspectives, it lacks analytical seriousness. The roles and success of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) and the Tigrean People's Liberation Front (TPLF) are celebrated and romanticized: The Fronts are described as having initiated a people's war, which has introduced an agrarian revolution, women's liberation, and a new model of development (Firebrace and Holland, 1985; Firebrace and Gayle, 1982; Cliffe and Davidson, 1988; Pateman, 1990; Klenow, 1987; Houtart, 1980a, 1980b; Davidson, 1980; Young, 1996, 1997). The .democratic and revolutionary qualities of their leaders, as well as the solidity of their respective hegemonic projects are invariably stressed. Michael and Trish Johnson (1981), referring to the history of the EPLF as a struggle for national democratic revolution, comparatively conclude that the:
Similarly, two participant observers writing on the TPLF claim that the:
However,since1991whenbothFrontscapturedstatepower,harshrealities haveemergedthat,tousePatrickGilkesphraseology,the'guerillagroupie literature'(1991)failedtoforesee.Describingthepoliticaleconomy ofthirdworldcountries,ThomasClivewrites:
ThosedescriptionsaptlyfitthecharacteroftheEPLFandtheTPLFasthey areengagedinwhatJean-Fran<;oisBayartcallsthe'politicsofthebelly' (1993).Notonlyhavetheycometoownandcontrolpublicpropertiessuchas landandbusinessenterprises,makingtheirrespectivestatespowerful landlordsandbusinesscorporations,buttheyalsohaveestablishedprivate companies,ownedandmanagedbytheirorganizations.
