This book chapter discusses the history of urbanisation of Juba as the capital of South Sudan after the 2011 independence. The article explores how citizens’ expectations in relation to the urbanisation agenda differ from those of the elites, including on service delivery. Finally, it provides insights on how South Sudan’s urban authorities’ response to needs and challenges facing a growing urban population has contributed to violence. Download the book here.
Entries by Jok Madut Jok
Abstract Common to most protracted conflicts that relapse into war is a disconnect between elites and local communities, which typically suffer the most when the former undermine peace agreements to further their own narrow interests. The central argument in this chapter, drawing heavily on the recent history of Sudan/South Sudan and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), is that African conflict resolution and peacebuilding relies too heavily on political agreements between politico-military elites. These deals focus…
In this selection of articles on the Future and Implementation of the R-ARCSS in South Sudan scholars/experts including Christopher Zambakari, Remember Miamingi, Peter Adwok Nyaba and Jok Madut Jok explore the R-ARCSS and its implementation by focusing on different issues such as the delays in the implementation of the agreement, the security sector reform, and the number of states. Download
In April 2019, Sudanese protestors in Khartoum, the capital and other major towns, managed to push their country’s longest reigning dictator, Omer Hassen al-Bashir, out of power after 30 years of a brutal dictatorship. The fall of al-Bashir was a cause for jubilation amongst crowds across the country, and true to the history of popular uprisings that Sudan has come to be known for. This protest, as in previous ones, succeeded in removing al-Bashir because…
For the past several weeks, there have been rising voices of both optimism and frustration, as reports of progress in the implementation of the so-called Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) continued to highlight violations, fresh military attacks, delays in executing ceasefire and security mechanisms and irregularities in the use of funds allotted to this process. This Weekly Review is a commentary on these mounting frustrations, some of which have…
Like the rest of the world, South Sudanese in Kenya were shocked when the Kenyan police started storming their residences, arresting and detaining many of them in police center in Nairobi, Nakuru, Lodwar, Eldoret, and Nyeri, among others. This came following a strongly worded statement by Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for the Interior, Fred Matiangi, concerning what he described as “illegal immigrants,” or foreigners working in Kenya without employment permits. In a government’s initiative that reflects…
After decades of civil war, the people of southern Sudan voted to secede from the north in an attempt to escape the seemingly endless violence. On declaring independence, South Sudan was one of the least developed places on earth, but with the ability to draw upon significant oil reserves worth $150 million a month, the foundation for a successful future was firmly in place. How, then, did the state of the new nation deteriorate even…
This review (April 2016) discusses some of the challenges faced by the TGoNU in relation to the implementation of the Agreement on the Resolution of conflict in South Sudan (ARCISS).
This policy brief (2016) examines the current state of human rights situation in South Sudan, and the global and regional contexts that complicate it. It particularly looks at how the government of the young state could be more caring about the lives of citizens and what options the world community has in prevention and punishment of atrocities and crimes committed against the South Sudanese citizens.
This paper (2015) is a review of the Addis Ababa-based, IGAD-led peace process. It focuses on highlighting risks which may stand in the way of an inclusive settlement, including the competition for power, the question of ethnic divides that have fuelled violence, the multiplicity of armed non-state actors; how to include them in a settlement without creating a gargantuan military that could bankrupt the country and remilitarise the situation. Download