Digital Activism, Transnational Repression, and the Eritrean-American Diaspora

Monday, October 6th | 11AM | HC 1510

Abstract:
The People’s Front for Democracy and Justice—PFDJ— came to power in Eritrea in 1993. On September 18, 2001, the government of Eritrea banned freedom of the press and freedom of speech in Eritrea, establishing Eritrea as a dictatorship. The current literature about transnational repression covers other governments, such as the Chinese government’s repression of the Uyghur diaspora, but little literature has covered the Eritrean government’s repression of the Eritrean diaspora. For my research, I analyzed how the Eritrean government’s transnational informant network impacted the sense of community that second-generation Eritrean-American opposition activists cultivated in the Eritrean diaspora. I came to the following conclusions: the majority of anti-government activists within my study do not experience a sense of membership with government supporters or a sense of influence in the Eritrean diaspora. However, many activists experience their own versions of a sense of community, which are characterized by their shared perspectives.

Examining Committee:
Chair: Dr. Stacy Pigg, Professor, Sociology & Anthropology, SFU
Supervisor: Dr. Kendra Strauss, Professor, Sociology & Anthropology, SFU
Committee Member: Dr. Maureen Kihika, Sociology & Anthropology,  SFU
External Examiner: Dr. Elizabeth Cooper, Associate Professor, School for International Studies, SFU

This event will be hosted in person at SFU Vancouver Harbour Centre Rm 1510.