On July 19, 2025, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki delivered yet another one of his long, ideologically freighted television interviews, part geopolitical treatise, part regional blame game, and all too familiar in its evasiveness. In a performance spanning nearly two hours on Eritrean State TV, President Isaias, now entering his 35th year as sole ruler of Eritrea, offered what he likely believes to be a masterclass in global political analysis. To the rest of us, it was another exercise in obfuscation, historical revisionism, and dangerous meddling in regional affairs.

If it were not so consequential, it might be comical: the head of one of the most closed, militarized, and economically stagnant nations on Earth positioning himself as the voice of moral clarity and regional stability.

The Global Order—A Mirror or a Diversion?

Isaias’s opening diagnosis of global power dynamics, a lament on the failure of the post-World War II international system and the erosion of U.S. hegemony, mirrors arguments made in academic journals and think tank reports. But there is a gaping contradiction: a man who has never allowed his own people a single vote in 34 years of independence now speaks of justice, equality, and fair global governance.

One cannot call for a “just international order” while running a country with no constitution, no independent judiciary, and one of the highest rates of youth exodus in the world. Eritrea, under Isaias, is the very embodiment of the authoritarianism and repression that have fueled much of the global south’s disillusionment with liberal internationalism.

His reflections on Africa’s economic stagnation, or resource dependency, weak manufacturing, brain drain are in many respects accurate. But again, Eritrea is among the worst examples. Its economy remains primitive, closed, and heavily militarized. International partnerships, aid, or even basic trade relations are nonexistent.

A Dangerous Obsession with the Internal Affairs of Countries in the Region

President Isaias spent a disproportionate amount of time speaking about Ethiopia, a neighboring country with whom Eritrea shares a complex, often volatile history. He accused others of warmongering. Yet the facts tell a different story. Eritrean troops, for instance, remain on Ethiopian soil long after the Pretoria Agreement. Eritrea has been credibly accused by independent observers of arming anti-government militias and fueling ethnic tensions not only in Ethiopia, but also in Sudan, interventions that go far beyond rhetorical posturing.

Isaias’s Own Legacy

One striking feature of the interview is what it does not contain. There is no mention of infrastructure development, no talk of educational reform or health care progress, no acknowledgment of the economic hardship endured by ordinary Eritreans. After 34 years of independence, there is little to show and even less to celebrate. No ports bustling with commerce. No technological leapfrogging. No democratic transition. Just the steady attrition of national potential under the weight of one man’s insecurities and strategic delusions. The Eritrean President seems more interested in shaping the narrative of other nations than addressing the glaring failures of his own.

What the Region Needs

The Horn of Africa is at a tipping point. It faces intersecting crises: mass migration, climate vulnerability, youth unemployment, and cross-border insurgencies. What it needs is regional cooperation, not ideological lectures. What it demands is mutual respect, not paranoia.

President Isaias’s interview reveals a deeply entrenched worldview, a mix of Cold War-era thinking, personalized grievance, and regional ambition. It is a worldview that may still resonate within the upper echelons of Eritrean leadership, but it is dangerously out of step with the needs of the region and the aspirations of its people.

If Eritrea is to be a partner in peace and development, its leadership must re-engage with its neighbors on the basis of transparency and trust. Until then, the Horn of Africa will remain hostage to the paranoid strategies of a man who mistakes monologue for diplomacy and power for wisdom.

Kayen Dawit is a researcher on the politics and governance of the Horn of Africa (HoA).

Contributed by Kayen Dawit