Regional Politics, Human Rights, and US Policy in the Horn of Africa

Lynn Fredriksson and Tricia Redeker Hepner

Abstract:

This article addresses the mutual implications of US policy and regional politics among the Horn of Africa
countries of Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia, with respect to interpretations of human rights norms. Drawing
on perspectives in anthropology and political science, as well as approaches to human rights advocacy and
policy, we explore contemporary human rights concerns in the Horn of Africa and highlight an inconsistency
in US foreign policy in the region. Based on our analysis, we make several recommendations on how human
rights may be advanced in the Horn by proceeding with greater sensitivity toward regional political dynamics
and fostering critical understanding of the assumptions embedded in US foreign policy in the region.

About the Author:

Tricia Redeker Hepner, Ph.D., is assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Tennessee,
Knoxville. She serves as country specialist on Eritrea with Amnesty International USA. She has published
several articles and has two books in progress on Eritrea: Biopolitics, Militarism and Development: Eritrea in the 21st Century (coedited with David O’Kane) and Soldiers, Martyrs, Traitors, and Exiles: Transnational Political Struggle in Eritrea and Diaspora.

Lynn Fredriksson, M.A., is advocacy director for Africa for Amnesty International USA and a doctoral
candidate in political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her dissertation research examines
nationalist self-determination claims in Africa. She is a coauthor of the book Women Fielding Danger: Negotiating Gender, Ethnicity, Class, Caste and Religion in Field Work, edited by Martha Huggins, forthcoming with Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Link to Full Article:

Regional_Politics_Human_Rights_and_US_Policy_in_the_Horn_of_Africa.pdf