Paper short abstract:

Comparison of the ways in which the government's of Eritrea and Rwanda to promote good citizenship, and the importance of this for statehood and state sovereignty.

Paper long abstract:

Eritrea and Rwanda have both instigated policies which have an element of coercion or strong encouragement to their citizens, and these surround modes of production. Examples we cite are Eritrea's use of national service workers, taxation for the Eritrean diaspora, and memorials to the liberation struggle, as well as Rwanda's reference too citizens by nationality rather than ethnic group, the imihigo performance contracts, and the introduction (or reintroduction) of events, anniversaries or citizens obligations to reinforce the sense of duty of citizenship. Failure to 'perform' citizenship or statehood is a threat not just to the state's 'legitimacy' but also to its resource base, and its final ends - development and sovereignty. In both cases, state policies are structured around particular notions of being a good citizen - state imperatives of performance and extraction are designed to ensure that citizens participate and contribute to those norms, while ensuring that those who challenge them are removed from the body politic, unable to make claims on the state. In both cases, state policies are structured around particular notions of being a good citizen - state imperatives of performance and extraction are designed to ensure that citizens participate and contribute to those norms, while ensuring that those who challenge them are removed from the body politic, unable to make claims on the state.