This briefing paper focuses on the politics of violence in South Sudan. It examines the factors that led to the delay of the December 2024 elections among other development in the country. Looking at the role of Tumaini Peace in the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) and the effects of the war in Sudan on politics in Juba and the violence occurring across the country, the paper finds the…
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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 focuses on the political economy of charcoal production in South Sudan, with the focus on its value chain. The paper identified a wide range of actors who dominate the political economy of charcoal, including producers, transporters, the public and defense sector financiers, landlords, brokers and security providers. The report highlights the current debate over the value, commodification and sale of forests, and it provides nuance understanding of the political economy of charcoal making…
Focusing on the Ethiopia-Sudan borderlands, this article aims at unpacking the dynamics underlying agricultural commodity production in the area. One of the main findings is the reliance on migrant labour and cycle of exploitation, enabled by a number of dynamics: land grabs, landlessness, conflict, climate change, etc. These cycles of exploitation are not only found in migrant or seasonal migrant workers, with families and local communities also subject to it. As this article uncovers the…
The report examines how individuals, communities and public authorities use protection practices during times of conflict. Using the case study of Leer and Bor, the report found some groups’ protection strategies, which are drawn from their long-standing experiences of navigating safety in a challenging context, knowledge of local landscapes, armed actors, norms of restraints and violence and the like. Finally, the report offers entry points on how humanitarian interventions can enhance realistic prospects of positive…
The briefing paper explores the structure and the mode of operation of the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group currently fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). Focusing on RSF recruitment strategies, war aims and command and control problems, the report finds that the RSF recruitment has fractured the social fabric, affecting its command and control, and that its war economy is predicated on plunder and reliance on smugglers and militarised brokers. The paper provides insights…
This report explores issues around housing, land and property in South Sudan, identifying their short-term and long-term impact. The report provides some recommendations for national and international humanitarian actors, South Sudanese authorities and donors on how to address the HLP issues through integrating HLP rights, establishing land dispute mechanisms and investing in the security of land tenure. Read more here
This article discusses the different trajectories of a once-united Zande people and their respective positions in the nation-states of South Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR). The report argues that unlike Azande in CAR, Azande in South Sudan have emerged as a formidable and united force, partly due to the independence of South Sudan and the violence inflicted on them by Uganda’s Lord Resistance Army, resulting in the reinstatement of their fallen kingdom. The…
This report assesses the extent to which customary justice can address massive human rights violations in South Sudan. The report suggested that customary justice can play a role in addressing serious violations and identifies some challenges with customary law applications. These include the power imbalance between various actors, the level of complexity of the violence, and a lack of clarity on customary justice’s proper role. To address these challenges, the report recommends that the current…
Focusing on the Wildlife Service’s management of wildlife, this article explores the intersection between conservation and conflict in South Sudan. The article found that the durability of South Sudan’s WLS amid years of chronic warfare is due to its militarized conservation approach, which stems from a legacy of colonial institutional antecedents, rebel governance and regime politics. The article provides insights on how the militarized approach to conservation has defined the pattern of wildlife politics, including…
This article discusses the implication of rural radicalism on safety and security in urban settings. Using the experiences of the 2013 conflict, the article argues that the use of armed rural youth, employed to protect the government in urban areas from opposition forces, has forced them to exploit the opportunity to settling scores against urban dwellers over political and economic marginalization of rural masses. The article provides nuances on how understanding of security inequality between…
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