This article examines the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development’s (GAD’s) mediation in South Sudan. Focusing on the elements of liberal peace and alternative rationalised approaches, the article identifies discrepancies between the two approaches in IGAD’s mediation strategies. It also provides recommendations on how Africa’s regional bodies and mechanisms, such as IGAD, can re-evaluate its peace theory and practice, including considerations on the effectiveness of the declining liberal peace paradigm. Read more here
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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.
Produced by Rift Valley Institute, this report focuses on the long-awaited democratic election in South Sudan. The report finds that there is little incentive to organise democratic election in the country due to several reasons, including limited election investment in the election process as well as the entrenchment of rent extraction among armed actors, and a generalised lack of political will. The report provides some practical steps for organising democratic elections, such as providing safety…
Focusing on the delayed national elections, this report explores ways in which South Sudan could organise and hold peaceful elections in 2026. The report identifies potential for conflict around the elections, rooted in the current challenges and constraints facing the country. The report shares some strategies that can be leveraged to promote more peaceful elections. Read more here
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…
The inauguration of President Joe Biden on the 20th of January 2021 is a triumph of democracy and democratic institutions in the United States. There were some genuine concerns that peaceful transfer of power might not happen for the first time in American history. President Trump’s refusal to concede the election he had genuinely lost, and his claim of electoral fraud were at the core of this uncertainty in the United States. The mob attack…
This policy brief rings alarm bells for the parties to the R-ARCSS, its guarantors,and civil society actors that unless certain actions are urgently taken, reforms under the revitalized peace agreement may fail to yield positive change in facilitating South Sudan’s transition to constitutional democracy, peace and national unity. What follows is a summary of main strands of the analysis and recommendations: •The R-ARCSS is a viable framework that could silence the guns and usher in…
This paper examines the persistence of violent conflicts in the two Sudans. It examines standard macro-approaches to conflict resolution—democracy, inclusiveness, intervention, secession, as well as the more radical “let-them-fight” thesis—to demonstrate the limitations on the ability of outsiders to manage the conflicts. Link to publication
This study aims to provide a critical legal evaluation of the Transitional Constitution, to analyse the constitution making procedures set out in that text, especially from a comparative perspective, and where appropriate to identify relevant procedures that could be locally adapted. Download
This article reviews the Sudanese political developments in the 1980s, thereby observing a shift from reluctant acceptance of those with different beliefs or ethnic background, to a political culture of intolerance. Link to publication
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