In the Absence of States

Abstract

This article focuses on organizations and social patterns operating within the Eritrean asylum community in Israel. We explore both community-based aid organizations and opposition groups, which together constitute, as we demonstrate, an Eritrean transnational civil society. The Eritrean community was created in Israel during the last few years with the arrival of Eritrean nationals fleeing their homeland and seeking protection. In our analysis, we consider how these organizations have developed as a unified exiled civil society and how they operate in the context of their State of origin (Eritrea) and of their State of asylum (Israel), while both States may effectively be present and/or absent in the community members’ lives, such that the resulting community comprises a unique transnational state.