Intra-ethnic interaction across a militarised international border: evidence from the Eritrean-Ethiopian border zone.

This paper examines enforcement practices and intra-ethnic interactions and encounters across the international border between Eritrea and Ethiopia from 2000 to 2018, with a particular focus on the Central Sector. The specific objective is to investigate how the Tigrinya ethnic group, who were arbitrarily separated by the colonial border between Eritrea and Ethiopia, make use of intra-ethnic relationships to combat the new border enforcement practices imposed by Eritrea and Ethiopia to advance their everyday reciprocal interests. This micro perspective is applied to two border towns, Serha and Tserona, which are located at Eritrea's border with Ethiopia. By analysing the everyday lived experiences of the people who live along the border, this article argues that the underground cross-border support and interactions among kin groups play a significant role in their everyday lives as they combat the States' everyday border enforcement practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]