The category of ‘inter-communal violence’ has been increasingly mobilised to interpret subnational violence in contemporary Africa. The paper contends this is an unwelcome trend that risks leaving violence unmoored from political and military systems it is enmeshed within. The paper advances an alternative framework for approaching such violence, using the cases of South Sudan and Nigeria to illustrate this framework. In purposefully weakened or deinstitutionalised systems, the paper argues, regimes tolerate, incite, or exploit forms…
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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.
On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) issued a Press Statement. It provided an update to the public, the region, and diplomatic community on the status of the implementation of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), while signaling the commencement of the Extended Transition Period through 2025. This is encouraging, marking the second time the Government has made such public announcement in…
In 2022, South Sudan was ranked as the world’s most vulnerable country to climate change and the one most lacking in coping capacity. South Sudan is also one of the world’s most politically fragile countries. Rising from the Depths explores opportunities and trade-offs for aligning South Sudan’s water-related investments and policies with its commitment to peace and its climate change adaptation needs. This report elevates water security as an issue critical for national development and…
A three-year investigation by The Sentry into a loan deal between a local company and a regional bank— with the backing of the South Sudan government—has uncovered red flags for illicit business practices, including bribery, tax evasion, and trade-based money laundering. The investigation found clear indications that the arrangement enabled powerful individuals to benefit from the manipulation of business worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The loan deal skirted legislation on oversight, transparency, and competition…
Focusing on the 2005-2020 period, the report discusses the political economy among South Sudanese elites. The report explores how the recent reduction in oil production and revenue has shifted the political economy, and related elite loyalty, from the one based on oil to one based on land ownership. The report argues that the new quest for land by elites is likely to lead not only to the deprivation of civilian populations of their land, but…
This commentary focusses on South Sudan’s regional diplomacy in relation to the Nile Bassin. Download
The purpose of this toolkit is to introduce readers to the complex relationship between land and violent conflict and to provide guidance on recommended approaches and actions to address some of the root causes of conflict. This understanding can help staff diagnose a problem, support strategic planning, and develop projects and activities that build on a robust appraisal of local context and conditions. Download
This report explores both the nexus (small n), as a way of programming, and the HDP Nexus approach (capital N) also called the Triple Nexus, as the approach promoted by the UN and OECD/ DAC, to include necessary ways organizations must work together to be able to o!er programming that achieves our desired impacts.
In the early hours of the morning of 24 May 2013, a group of South Sudanese vigilantes attacked the town of Obo in the Central African Republic (CAR), having covered the distance of 100 km from the South Sudan/CAR border to Obo on foot. An unprovoked international attack in violation of CAR’s sovereignty could be interpreted as an act of aggression under international law. At the least, one would expect subsequent diplomatic frostiness between the…
This paper examines how land governance – or the rules, processes, and structures through which decisions are made about access to land and its use, the manner in which the decisions are implemented and enforced, and the way that competing interests in land are managed – has interacted with the conflict in South Sudan. A theme running through the paper is that control over decisions relating to land, as much as control over the land…
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