South Sudan obtained independence in July 2011 as a kleptocracy – a militarized, corrupt neo-patrimonial system of governance. By the time of independence, the South Sudanese “political marketplace” was so expensive that the country’s comparatively copious revenue was consumed by the military-political patronage system, with almost nothing left for public services, development or institution building. The efforts of national technocrats and foreign donors produced bubbles of institutional integrity but the system as a whole was…
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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 provides an overview of key dilemmas and challenges faced by UNMISS since 2011. The paper outlines some of the issues that the new UNSC mandate for UNMISS will have to come to terms with. It does this on the basis of the UN’s experience in South Sudan over the past few years. Download
This timeline provides an overview of the most important political/security events in South Sudan from mid-2012 to mid-2014. Download
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…
International Alert’s report, Trading with neighbours, examines the realities of trade relations between business communities in Uganda and South Sudan. The report provides targeted recommendations to business and traders associations, civil society, the governments of Uganda and South Sudan, financial institutions and the media aimed at remedying these adverse trade issues and practices, in an effort to create a more conducive trading atmosphere for cross-border business communities in the region. Download
This article compares two cases of securitization along South Sudan’s border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By comparing how a security concern – the presence of the Lord’s Resistance Army – was interpreted and responded to, the article shows that border security practices in two borderscapes are improvised, contradictory and contested, and serve to establish authority rather than actually securing the border. This is apparent on three levels: (a) through the multiplicity of…
The Security Council today extended the operation of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) until 30 November under a restructured mandate intended to quell the violence, especially against civilians, and support implementation of the recent Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, increasing troop and police strength in order to fulfil its terms. Unanimously adopting resolution 2155 (2014), the Council authorized the Mission — under a ceiling of 12,500 military troops of all ranks and a…
A new investigation into the conflict in South Sudan has revealed horrific atrocities committed by both parties to the conflict, with ethnically motivated attacks on civilians constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity, Amnesty International said in a report released today. Nowhere Safe: Civilians Under Attack in South Sudan documents first-hand accounts from survivors of massacres, victims of sexual abuse, and witnesses to a conflict that has forced over one million people to flee their…
This transcript of an interview with HSBA consultant Joshua Craze discusses various elements of the politico-military crisis since December 2013. Download
This review analyzes the implications of President Kiir’s decision to remove long serving Chief of General Staff of the SPLA, Lt. General James Hot Mai along with Maj. Gen. Mac Paul, Director of Military Intelligence.
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