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
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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.
A rebellion in Equatoria, South Sudan’s southernmost region, is undermining the already troubled peace between the main belligerents in its civil war. Mediators should push for a wider compact that accommodates Equatorian grievances and includes the insurgent general in talks about the country’s political future. What’s new? Despite a 2018 deal bringing South Sudan’s main warring parties into a ceasefire and unity government, a rebellion in the southern multi-ethnic Equatoria region fights on. Its leader, Thomas…
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 research project was commissioned in response to a growing concern among civil society, faith-based organisations, affected communities, and refugees about the negative impact of logging on local communities in South Sudan, particularly in the Equatorian Region and Greater Bahr El Ghazal. It was envisaged that through the initial research and deeper understanding of the issues involved, opportunities for engagement would be identified to inform strategic programming in a subsequent phase. This document therefore is…
Improved security and access to justice are urgent priorities for the people of South Sudan, who have been targeted by government and opposition forces since the beginning of the civil war in December 2013, and affected by violence between and within communities. A variety of groups and institutions aim, or claim, to provide people with security and justice, from the police, military and courts, to customary leaders and the armed opposition. As most people cannot…
In much of the world, security and justice are mostly provided not by formal bodies, such as state police services or judiciaries, but by informal, non-state actors. Meanwhile, international donors invest millions of dollars in funding to reform and strengthen security and justice provision in conflict-affected and fragile contexts. To be relevant and effective, such support must be informed by an understanding of which actors and institutions are actually fulfilling security and justice functions. Critically…
Millions of dollars of one of the world’s most sought-after hardwoods is coming from an unlikely source – South Sudan. Originally planted in the 1940’s by British colonists, South Sudan’s teak reserves are among the largest in Africa. Without regulatory protections in place, what could have become a sustainable revenue source for the young nation has instead enriched domestic armed actors and foreign elites, further contributing to South Sudan’s instability. The report, Money Tree: Teak…
In 2013, Africa’s newest state, was on the brink of collapse. Internal armed conflict, serious human rights violations and a divided government led to the death or displacement of thousands of people. A 2015 peace agreement ended the conflict and created a range of transitional justice mechanisms to address the country’s past. None of these mechanisms are operational. Violence returned in 2016 necessitating a revitalised peace process. This report assesses South Sudanese citizens’ perceptions of…
This paper argues that the Monyomiji age class institution, focused on the youth, is essential in the South Sudan civil war resolution. Local cultures, through which the traditional roles of youth are manifest, should be included at national conflict resolution negotiations to prevent decades of failed national, regional and international interventions. Interventions in South Sudan civil war have excluded traditional peace values, and at times sought to train locals, particularly youth, in conventional-style negotiation and…
In 1963, unrest in Sudan’s three southern provinces (today’s South Sudan) escalated into a civil war between the government and the Anya-Nya rebellion. The subsequent eight years of violence has hitherto largely escaped scrutiny from academic researchers and has remained a subject of popular imagination and politicised narratives. This article demonstrates how this history can be explored with greater nuance, thereby establishing a local history of a postcolonial civil war. Focusing on the garrison town…
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