This review is based on the author’s presentation to the Roundtable convened by UNMISS in Juba on the 6-7 July 2021, to Commemorate the 10th Anniversary of South Sudan’s independence. The remarks and views reflected in the review are the author’s and not to be attributed to UNMISS or the Sudd Institute. Download

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…

In July 2011, South Sudan was granted independence and became the world’s newest country. Yet just two-and-a-half years after this momentous decision, the country was in the grips of renewed civil war and political strife. Hilde F. Johnson served as Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan from July 2011 until July 2014 and, as such, she was witness to the many challenges which…

We live in an era where the need to ensure proper administration of justice has never been so imperative. However, the fulfilment of this desire, as an aspiration of every citizen, depends largely on the competence, independence, and integrity of judges as the custodians of the laws. This brief discusses the significance of judicial independence to the administration of justice, particularly in the context of South Sudan. While the brief acknowledges that maladministration is inherent…

The Torit Mutiny of August 1955 in southern Sudan did not trigger a civil war, but state violence and disorder escalated over the following years. We explore how the outlook and strategies of the government officials who inherited the state apparatus of the Anglo-Egyptian condominium contributed to this development. They perpetuated authoritarian and violent government practices based on a legalistic distinction between citizen and outlaw, while justifying their actions as part of a developmentalist and…

What happened after Africa’s biggest country split in two? When South Sudan ran up its flag in July 2011, two new nations came into being. In South Sudan a former rebel movement faces colossal challenges in building a new country. At independence it was one of the least developed places on earth, after decades of conflict and neglect. The ‘rump state’, Sudan, has been debilitated by devastating civil wars, including in Darfur, and lost a…

In July 2011 the Republic of South Sudan achieved independence, concluding what had been Africa’s longest running civil war. The process leading to independence was driven by the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement, a primarily Southern rebel force and political movement intent on bringing about the reformed unity of the whole Sudan. Through the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005, a six year peace process unfolded in the form of an interim period premised upon ‘making unity…

Argues forcefully that the birth of the independent state of Southern Sudan and the threat of further dismemberment of a rump northern Sudan are due to the failure of the approaches and ideologies of the main Sudanese parties, as well as a deeply flawed US-backed peace process that excludes civil society and other rebel groups. Link to publication

For South Sudanese, July 9, 2011, marked the end of one journey filled with conflict and the quest for self-determination and the beginning of a new one that will define their future. This study, based on 67 focus group discussions conducted from March 16-April 6, 2011, with 860 participants across all 10 states in South Sudan, explores public attitudes about the nature of that journey and details participant predictions for its outcome. They articulate aspirations…

This article discusses the concept of citizenship in Sudan in light of the Sudanese and Southern Sudanese interim constitutions and relevant laws. Download

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