Ethno-communal Conflict in Sudan and South Sudan

Abstract

This chapter analyzes ethno-communal conflicts in Sudan and South Sudan, which gained independence in 2011. In these two countries, ethno-communal rivalries have primarily manifested in three different types of violent conflicts: communal conflicts, rebel-rebel fighting, and civil wars. The study consists of three core parts. First, the chapter provides some empirical information about center-periphery relations (in both Sudan and South Sudan, elites in the center enjoy outmost political and economic power, while other regions are severely marginalized) and the major violent conflicts in the two countries. Second, the chapter focuses on ethno-communal conflicts in Sudan’s westernmost region, Darfur. This section illustrates that an intricate web of ethno-communal conflicts exist in Darfur. It also emphasizes the importance of land and examines the government’s role in these different conflicts. Third, the chapter studies the civil war that has devastated South Sudan since December 2013. It shows that legacies from Sudan’s North-South war (particularly the Sudanese government’s strategy of divide-and-rule) are important for how the war in South Sudan has manifested.