The USAID Promoting Resilience through Ongoing Participatory Engagement and Learning (PROPEL) program was designed to foster social cohesion and resilience in targeted communities in Jonglei, Lakes, and Eastern and Central Equatoria states in South Sudan through a Community-Driven Development (CDD) approach. PROPEL provided material improvements in the lives of community members and at the same time strengthened the communities’ capacity to drive their own development through harnessing their own resources, leveraging other donor-funded programs, and…
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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 paper explores the cross-border attacks from South Sudan into Gambella in April 2016. Doing this it counters reductionist narratives of Murle communities and the role of Murle leaders. Download
Why does South Sudan continue to experience endemic, low intensity conflicts punctuated by catastrophic civil wars? Reporters and analysts often mischaracterise conflicts in the young country of South Sudan as products of divisive ‘tribal’ or ‘ethnic’ rivalries and political competition over oil wealth. More nuanced analyses by regional experts have focused almost exclusively on infighting among elite politicians and military officers based in Juba and other major cities who use patronage networks to ethnicise conflicts….
The continuing conflict which began in December 2013 is having a devastating impact on the lives and livelihoods of millions of South Sudanese women, men, boys and girls. Conflict hasdisplaced populations, reduced food production and disrupted livelihoods and markets, making South Sudan one of the most food-insecure countries in the world. Women and men of all ages are suffering from the effects of conflict, including abuses and loss of control over, and access to, vital…
Since the late 1990s, researchers have been predicting that the era of neutrality in aid politics is coming to an end and that foreign organizations will have to take a more engaged stance. Yet while the boundaries between humanitarianism and development are fading, in some cases the neutrality norm is actually expanding rather than giving way to an engaged paradigm. Recognizing that the principles of neutrality and independence have different meanings for different actors and…
This briefing describes the findings from research carried out in several areas of South Sudan in the context of armed conflict and raiding. The findings show that despite state-building efforts, service delivery remained inadequate in remote areas and that the interface between service delivery and people’s perceptions of the state is complex. The authors recommend that the highly political nature of state-building and post-conflict transformation processes should be more systematically taken into account by external…
This briefing paper (2016) summarises shifts in international engagement in South Sudan from humanitarian aid to development and institution-building, and then back again to crisis response. This paper analyses why current aid frameworks have been mostly unsuccessful in their efforts to promote sustainable institutions and peace in South Sudan. The central argument is that aid actors largely failed because they applied technical solutions to political problems. What is needed is a rethink in approaches, modalities,…
This briefing paper recommends a rethink in the way that aid actors approach questions of recovery and livelihood. Rather than a simplistic either/ or approach, what is needed is a much more localised and deeper analysis of conflict, inter-communal grievances and inter-communal relations.
This document reviews the literature on the history, organization, and operation of the white army in the context of the civil war that erupted in December 2013. Based on interviews with white army members, it seeks to understand their motivation, their understanding of the civil war and the peace agreement and what they want for the future of South Sudan. Download
This report describes the serious mental health impact of South Sudan’s conflict in order to highlight the urgency for more attention, and resources, to improve the availability, accessibility, and quality of mental health services in the country. It is based on interviews with 161 internally displaced South Sudanese and with government and UN officials, donors, representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and international and South Sudanese mental health professionals. Download
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