The High Court of Kenya recently handed down a decision that reinforces the role of courts to protect the constitution against executive overreaches. To constitutional lawyers and academics, the decision is a triumph for constitutionalism and the rule of law. In this piece, we discuss lessons that may be drawn from the decision for constitutional consolidation (or amendment) and the role of courts in South Sudan. One lesson is that courts, as custodians of the…
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South Sudan is highly vulnerable to climate change, including flooding, droughts and, most recently, a locust infestation. Long-term climate change, like a gradual increase in temperature, and short-term changes, like increased flooding, have indirect and interlinked implications for peace and security in South Sudan. Download
This article presents the results of a qualitative study on the context and different forms of violence committed against women and girls in South Sudan. The study documents many forms of sexual and physical violence against women and girls in South Sudan, including conflict-related sexual violence, intimate partner violence, nonpartner sexual violence, child and forced marriage, and abduction. Violence occurred during three overarching contexts: armed conflict, gender inequality, and the economic crisis. The custom of…
This report explores the important role chiefs’ courts play in food security and in addressing hunger in South Sudan by reallocating food to vulnerable community members. Their role is particularly important in view of famine and recurrent extreme food insecurity affecting South Sudan. The authors suggest that chief courts potentially offer useful data for famine early warning and responses but also underline that humanitarian actors engaging with chiefs’ courts should do so with a contextually…
Pastoralist conflicts are important global development outcomes, especially in Africa. Analysing relevant literature on this phenomenon, we identify “institutions” as a key but fragmented theme. This blurs a composite understanding of how institutions affect these conflicts and their management. Hence, this article proposes a conceptual framework that brings harmony to this discourse by analysing 172 relevant publications. The framework was then tested using evidence from interviews and policy documents collected on a typical case in…
Despite civil war and economic crisis, the educational sector in South Sudan has made tentative gains since 2011. This paper explores the everyday governance of schools in South Sudan, and the struggles of teachers to deliver education amid violence and predation and with scarce resources. The paper presents an analysis of policy data on education coupled with the insights of researchers and teachers from seven locations in South Sudan, drawing on interviews and a dialogue…
This report explores the dynamics of local conflict and governance through the recent civil war across South Sudan, using five ‘case study’ locations: Gogrial, Malakal, Leer, Nimule, and Abyei. Evident through this research was that, while public authority – both formal and informal – and political marketplace dynamics, varied considerably across the five research sites, a number of important commonalities also emerged in some or all locations, regarding their evolving roles through the conflict(s) and…
This report describes the main findings and recommendations of research carried out for the Partners for Resilience (PfR) alliance on how the PfR programme is affected by – or may affect – conflict. Although PfR works in different conflict-affected countries and contexts, it does not address conflict or insecurity explicitly. This is potentially problematic for PfR’s effectiveness. It is therefore important to consider whether PfR could or should address conflict more explicitly. For this research,…
Abstract Motivation In 2020, the UK merged the Department for International Development (DFID) with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), as the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). This policy move strengthens the trend to securitize development, whereby the provision of aid is motivated by national security concerns. Purpose Many researchers have raised concerns about the securitization of aid and its consequences for development, but little research has examined its impact on aid‐recipient countries. Approach…
Abstract This article investigates the pragmatic, everyday journeys of South Sudanese refugees in northern Uganda’s Palabek Refugee Settlement through a mobilities-focused analytical lens. Despite the repatriation of vast numbers of refugees, little is known about the diversity of refugees’ later movements. Recognition of this complexity is important. Although many of the South Sudanese interlocutors take part in multiple interconnected movements both within and across borders, these are frequently irregular and unpredictable. The authors define these…