1st Edition

South Sudan Post-Independence Dilemmas

Edited By Amir Idris Copyright 2018
    136 Pages
    by Routledge

    136 Pages
    by Routledge

    South Sudan: Post-Independence Dilemmas is an interdisciplinary collection of essays which engages with the failure of the newest African State to transition itself successfully to a state and nation after its independence in July 2011.





    The contributors explore the prospects for new modes of politics capable of simultaneously healing and reconciling the divided communities while moving the country beyond divisive ethnic identities. As they focus on the political, historical, legal, or cultural challenges presented in the process of state formation, the chapters situate South Sudan’s dilemma in its history of political elitism and gender violence, and the role of international actors in order to examine the effects of these factors and the national mechanisms which have attempted to address them.





    By foregrounding the relationship between the crises of the state and the politics of ethnicity in South Sudan, the book explores new potentialities in finding an alternative pathway redirect and unleash the creative energies and capacities of the peoples in South Sudan for meaningful social and economic development. As such, it will be of interest to scholars of African Politics and State Building.

    Notes on contributors



    List of abbreviations and acronyms



    Map



    Preface





    Chapter One: Unpacking South Sudan’s Political Violence: History, Identity, and Citizenship



    Chapter Two: The Curse of Elitism: South Sudan’s failure to transition to statehood and nationhood



    Chapter Three: Oil, Economic Development and Community in South Sudan



    Chapter Four: Conflict, Customary Law, Gender and Women’s Rights in South Sudan



    Chapter Five: South Sudan’s Elusive Peace: Between Local Drivers of Violence and the Actions of External Actors



    Chapter Six: Constitution Making and the Challenges of State Building in South Sudan





    Index



    Biography

    Dr. Amir Idris is a Professor of African History and Politics, and the Chair of the Department of African and African American Studies at Fordham University in New York City. His teaching and research interests focus on the history and politics of colonialism, on slavery and race, and on post-colonial citizenship in Northeast and Central Africa. His publications include Sudan's Civil War: Slavery, Race and Formational Identities (2001), Conflict and Politics of Identity in Sudan (2005), and Identity, Citizenship, and Violence in Two Sudans (2013), and he has also published numerous book chapters and articles.