Abstract Common to most protracted conflicts that relapse into war is a disconnect between elites and local communities, which typically suffer the most when the former undermine peace agreements to further their own narrow interests. The central argument in this chapter, drawing heavily on the recent history of Sudan/South Sudan and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), is that African conflict resolution and peacebuilding relies too heavily on political agreements between politico-military elites. These deals focus…
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CSRF Research Repository
The CSRF Research Repository aims to support greater contextual knowledge for policy makers, programme managers, and implementers by providing a searchable repository of research, analysis, and resources, and providing periodic updates on new research and analysis.
The protection of civilians (PoC) mandate of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), was established in 2011, coinciding with the country’s independence. Since then, the public discourse on UNMISS has called into question the capacity of the mission to fully meet the expectations created by this mandate in practice. In this chapter the authors explore this issue by investigating the following questions: 1) how can the discrepancy between UNMISS and its mandate be…
The Zambakari Advisory is pleased to publish its first Special Issue on the subject: “South Sudan Peace Agreement and Peacemaking.” The Zambakari Advisory asked scholars, activists, students, former government officials and leading intellectuals to think about the theme for this issue and offer insights into it. The Zambakari Advisory hopes these analyses will provide new insights to both reflect on, and inform the work of stakeholders engaged in brokering peace and/or the pending National Dialogue….
A mere two years after achieving independence, South Sudan in 2013 descended into violent civil war, refuting US government claims that the country’s succession was a major foreign policy success and would end endemic conflict. Worse was to follow when the international community declared famine in 2017. In the first book-length study of the South Sudan civil war, John Young draws on his close but critical relationship with the rebel SPLM-IO leadership to reveal the…
South Sudan is one of the world’s most divided and unstable countries. Since achieving statehood in 2011, the country has plunged into civil war (2013-15) and become the scene of some of the worst human rights abuses on the African continent. Despite ongoing political turmoil, states and international institutions have pledged enormous resources to stabilize the country and shore up the current peace process, but have had limited influence in dealing with the effects of…
This chapter highlights practices in the wider peacebuilding field that seek similar outcomes as UN peace operations or otherwise affect the background conditions necessary for their success. It treats South Sudan as an illustrative case study that uniquely reflects processes that shape and regulate sites of conflict, chronic emergency, and limited statehood across postcolonial sub-Saharan states. The author argues that, despite the ‘view from above’, South Sudan’s independence ultimately depended on two interconnected peacebuilding frameworks:…
This chapter provides an overview of the implementation of POC mandates in UN peace operations, drawing on Hilde Johnson’s experience from the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) between 2011 and 2014 as Special Representative and Head of Mission. UNMISS had a broad POC-mandate, covering both military, police and civilian components. The author will start with a focus on the capacity to protect through non-military means, and then move on to the capacity to provide…
The euphoric birth of South Sudan was celebrated around the world – a triumph for global justice and a sign that one of the world’s most devastating wars was finally over. But the party would not last; the Republic’s freedom-fighters soon plunged their new nation back into chaos, shattering the promise of liberation and exposing the hubris of their Western backers. An epic tale of paradise won and lost, A Rope from the Sky is…
This paper discusses the legal framework of the traditional justice methods in several African countries, with a focus on South Sudan; the objective of customary law, the role of traditional courts or the forum of elders, and the methods of settlement of disputes. These methods of settlement of disputes are by-products of the practices, customs and traditions of the people that were devised as ways of maintaining peace and tranquillity, and thereby uphold the rule…
When South Sudan’s war began, the Beatles were playing their first hits and reaching the moon was an astronaut’s dream. Half a century later, with millions massacred in Africa’s longest war, the continent’s biggest country split in two. It was an extraordinary, unprecedented experiment. Many have fought, but South Sudan did the impossible, and won. This is the story of an epic fight for freedom. It is also the story of a nightmare. First Raise a…
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