A mere two years after achieving independence, South Sudan in 2013 descended into violent civil war, refuting US government claims that the country’s succession was a major foreign policy success and would end endemic conflict. Worse was to follow when the international community declared famine in 2017. In the first book-length study of the South Sudan civil war, John Young draws on his close but critical relationship with the rebel SPLM-IO leadership to reveal the…
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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.
International aid is an important part of the political economy of South Sudan and interacts with government, including state and local structures and authorities, in a continuous and evolving manner. Innovation, cooperation, mistrust, and conflict have characterised the relationship between the broader international aid community and the structures that produce and exercise authority in this diverse land. Since the 2013 civil war, though, this relationship has been dominated by mistrust as the international narrative towards…
From October to November 2018, the South Sudan Civil Society Forum (SSCSF), a coalition of more than two hundred South Sudanese civic organizations, surveyed 1,147 people in five locations in South Sudan and a refugee camp in Uganda to better understand their views on the peace process and the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS). The report summarizes the main findings and recommendations. Among the report’s recommendations is that…
This report analyses approaches to conflict transformation and peacebuilding in South Sudan. It identifies overarching lessons from outside South Sudan, from the country’s own history, and based on the wisdom of local peacebuilders, long-term practitioners and citizens affected by their work. The reports outlines ten lessons or principles which provide some guidance to those who wish to understand or support peacebuilding in South Sudan. These are each accompanied by short case studies which explore why…
In almost all societies today, including those in crisis, markets are a key determinant of household livelihoods and resilience. Market outcomes are a significant determinant of livelihood outcomes, and so understanding how crises affect markets and market relations is critical. However, humanitarian actors are thinking about markets mainly because of their instrumental use to aid, rather than as institutions critical to crisis-affected populations in and of themselves. This report collates findings across three case studies on what actually…
This briefing paper sheds light on some aspects of the conflict sensitivity of food aid in former Northern Bahr el Ghazal (NBeG). In contrast to other states, NBeG has been spared by large scale armed violence, but it is affected by a severe food security crisis that has forced tens of thousands of people to move to Sudan. Food insecurity has been chronic in NBeG, but has been further exacerbated by the economic crisis, large…
This briefing note explores the interaction between gender norms of masculinities and femininities, and capacities for peace and conflict in areas that are receiving assistance. The aim of the research on which this publication is based on is to better understand how gender norms, including violent notions of masculinity and gender inequality in Greater Lakes State and Western Equatoria State may be affecting: the scale and the nature of conflict and violence; the roles played…
In April 2016, seventeen chiefs from different parts of South Sudan gathered in Kuron Holy Trinity Peace Village, in Eastern Equatoria, to discuss the role of customary authority in governance—past and present—and their own contribution to peacemaking and a future political transition. The Chiefs’ meeting at Kuron was the first time that traditional leaders from areas on opposing sides of the conflict had met in South Sudan since 2013. This report draws on a transcript…
By examining the history of humanitarian engagement in Southern Sudan during OLS and in Darfur, the research aims to identify parallels with the current landscape in South Sudan. This report focuses on the practical implications that the changing operating realties have for international organizations operating in South Sudan as well as those dependent on an effective humanitarian response.
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