Eritrea

Eritrea has been described as a ‘garrison state’.  Following decades of war to win independence from Ethiopia in 1991, any social gains made by the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) during the liberation struggle were rapidly eroded.  Newly independent Eritrea quickly fell under the authoritarian rule of Isaias Afwerki, who violently purged all political opposition, shelved the constitution, and disbanded the National Assembly to consolidate his personal rule which persists to the present day.