This report is an account of the Wunlit meeting in the words of the original participants, conducted in the light of the continuing state of conflict in South Sudan and the relevance of the history of peace-making to the current political situation. It is produced as part of the South Sudan Customary Authorities Project, funded by the Swiss government. The goal of the project is to deepen understanding of customary authority in South Sudan, particularly…
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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.
This report provides an overview of the National Dialogue in South Sudan with a focus on citizen perceptions of the process. It lays out the current context in which the National Dialogue is situated, the history of past dialogues as well as the initiation and evolution of the current process. The report concludes with a series of recommendations for how to support the implementation of the National Dialogue’s resolutions and lessons learned for other participatory…
This article draws on empirical data collected in Yei River County, South Sudan, to contribute to debates on hybrid governance in Africa. Current literature offers a limited understanding of the practical workings of hybridity, and particularly of whether and under what circumstances hybridity may meet the interests and solve the problems of citizens. This article discusses how subsequent historical attempts at state-building have left a complex and layered governance system and analyses how this system…
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…
This case study sets out learning from programmatic engagement from the UK’s Peacebuilding Opportunities Fund (POF) among the Otuho people of Eastern Equatoria State. The programme promoted a cultural engagement process aimed to strengthen women’s peace and security at a time when Otuho society undergoes a 22-year cycle of generational change when leadership structures are renewed. This case study draws on POF experience from this engagement, sharing learning associated with influencing cultural processes through public…
This ‘Lessons Learned’ Paper combines a narrative section with the peacebuilding principles that the team has identified through the process. The narrative element below deliberately also takes the updates as they were written at the time, rather than re-editing after the fact. Whilst this makes for a less flowing narrative, it allows another angle of engagement for the reader; seeing what the team was emphasising as the process iterated. The hope is that, collectively, this…
The MAAPSS Update No. 6 provides an overview of the developments taking place in Upper Nile State. The beginning of the year saw the appointment of a Shilluk governor for Upper Nile, Budhok Ayang Kur, and his Padang Dinka deputy, James Tor Monybuny. Their appointments have sent shockwaves through the state, and greatly increased instability in Malakal and the surrounding area. Download
This report examines the ongoing conflict in the Equatoria region of South Sudan and delineates the key actors and interests that will need to be accommodated in any attempt to resolve the crisis. Based on field research and interviews conducted in Equatoria and neighboring Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Kenya from 2016 to 2020, the report was sponsored by the Africa Center at the United States Institute of Peace. Download
This Conflict Series Brief analyses the effects of the recent pandemic-induced oil price shock on three vulnerable, conflict-affected countries. This is done by testing the two competing theories of the resource curse and of the rentier state, each offering a different interpretation of the oil-conflict nexus: The resource curse theory posits that an abundance of natural resources, and in particular oil, raises the probability, frequency, and intensity of conflict. The rentier state theory sees the…
A literary essay that tells the story of southern Sudan since 1983, and the emergence of a dominant military class in the country, sustained by international support and the indifference of the diplomatic corps. Link to publication
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