This paper explores the major causes, processes and consequences of natural resource conflicts between tribes across the Sudan – South Sudan border region, with the main emphasis on the Abyei territory. Data for the study have been gathered from primary and secondary sources. The research revealed that the conflict over ownership of Abyei’s renewable and non-renewable resources has evolved as a contentious issue between Sudan and South Sudan. The situation was complicated by the relationship…
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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 examines the 1994 Declaration of Principles (DoP) for the resolution of the Sudanese civil war, adopted by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). This was the only occasion on which an African inter-state organization included separation as an option for resolving a civil war. It was the basis for South Sudan’s independence in 2011. The DoP was drafted by the Ethiopian government, and imposed on belligerent parties, both of which were, at the…
Definition: This article revisits debates about the root causes of civil wars with the aim of providing a coherent framework for addressing such drivers and building sustainable peace. It is argued in this article that the civil war is better explained by the absence of resilient social contract rather than the dominant theoretical perspectives that attribute causation of civil wars to grievances or greed. The resilient social contract framework with its three postulated drivers is…
One inescapable question in the minds of many South Sudanese is what the change of guard in the Sudan represents in terms of its relationship with South Sudan. Another question pertains to the impact Al Bashir’s departure has on the Peace Agreement he helped the South Sudanese belligerents signed in September last year. This paper seeks to answer these questions in order to provide a concise view on the political dynamics in Sudan as seen…
Peace agreements can be turning points in complex transitions from war to peace. But they don’t necessarily lead to greater stability, let alone peace. This report explores trajectories of violence in Sudan and South Sudan after the signature of peace agreements. It traces violence trajectories and explores whether these peace agreements resolved, reshaped or perpetuated existing patterns of violence. Download
A UN mission has largely succeeded in keeping the peace in Abyei, an oil-rich area claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan. But there has been less progress made on the mission’s work in aiding political mechanisms to determine the final status of Abyei and demilitarise and demarcate the border. As the UN Security Council debates the mission’s scope, these mechanisms deserve ongoing support.
In many countries around the world (especially in Africa), the livelihood of pastoralists depends largely on trekking over vast areas of land in constant search of water and pasture for their animals. This nomadic life brings certain challenges including a constant desire to escape adverse conditions of animal health, government taxes and security threats. Pastoralists try to adapt to constantly changing conditions in the wider context of their existence. This applies to both the physical…
This article reviews five recently published books on the history of South Sudan and the Sudan. Nicki Kindersley identifies common aims of the books including: to bind the Sudans into their geographical and intellectual context; to illuminate histories previously hidden by a common but limited research focus on Sudans’ states and wars; and to reexamine methods and sources, particularly in the search for histories beyond elites and central state politics. Nicki Kindersley reviewed the following…
After decades of civil war, the people of southern Sudan voted to secede from the north in an attempt to escape the seemingly endless violence. On declaring independence, South Sudan was one of the least developed places on earth, but with the ability to draw upon significant oil reserves worth $150 million a month, the foundation for a successful future was firmly in place. How, then, did the state of the new nation deteriorate even…
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