The Ethiopian-Eritrean federation, a product of a United Nations resolution, came into existence in 1952 and was abolished ten years later. The primary objective of this book is to examine the rise and the fall of the federation in the light of present-day realities. This central theme is placed in context by a reconstruction of Eritrean political organizations during the crucial postwar years.

The work includes a short account of the war between Eritrean nationalist forces and the Ethiopian government, which lead up to the emergence of Eritrea as a sovereign state. Based primarily on archival sources at the Public Record Office in London, Eritrea and Ethiopia argues that no other group in the region has repeatedly succeeded in shaping its political destiny as the Tigreans of Eritrea have.