This study follows on from an earlier Small Arms Survey paper by the author (Young, 2015). It begins where the earlier paper left off with the signing of the ARCSS and ends with the first anniversary of the agreement’s collapse in July 2017. Like the earlier study, this research is based on many visits by the author and his assistant to Juba, Greater Upper Nile, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Sudan to carry out interviews with SPLM-IO officials, Nuer civilians, and others; specific visits to Addis Ababa and Khartoum between 10 and 26 May 2016; attendance at relevant conferences; and an examination of the growing secondary literature and news reports on the conflict in South Sudan. The primary focus of the study is on the political development of the SPLM-IO, and no attempt is made to provide a comprehensive analysis of the organization’s military activities or examine conditions at the local level. Out of concern for confidentiality, sometimes statements or information cannot always be attributed.

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