https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2330-8142
![Sample our Politics & International Relations journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5947/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Politics-International-Relations.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
To date, two power-sharing agreements have been signed since civil war broke out in South Sudan in December 2013. The first agreement collapsed just after one year when renewed fighting broke out in July 2016. The second agreement signed in September 2018 continues to experience implementation challenges and ceasefire violations, while some of the parties declined to sign it. This article explores the role of distrust in stagnating the power-sharing agreements, and how trust building could be a game-changer. In a semi-structured in-depth interview, 29 key stakeholders were interviewed, including the conflict parties, mediators, eminent South Sudanese personalities, scholars and civil society leaders. Five major themes emerged: historical conflicts, estranged political relationships, power struggles, resource control and ethnic violence (not included in this article). The results suggest the conflict is sustained by a trust deficit among the parties arising from unresolved historical conflicts to estranged political relationships and power struggles. The article recommends transitional justice approaches for trust building and sustainable agreements.
Notes on contributor
Sam Angulo Onapa holds a Master of Arts (MA) in Peacebuilding from Coventry University (UK) and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of New England, NSW. His study focuses on the conflict in South Sudan, particularly the role of the political elite. Prior to embarking on the study in February 2017, he worked with the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Department, in Sudan and later at the headquarters in Addis Ababa. His role included Administration and Finance oversight in Sudan and South Sudan in addition to facilitating and coordinating peace building projects. In Addis Ababa, he was responsible for peace projects funds management and coordination of the peace projects in Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Burundi, CAR, DRC, Mali and various other post conflict countries in West Africa.
ORCID
Sam Angulo Onapa http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2330-8142
Notes
1 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), ‘Revitalised Agreement’.
2 Blackings, ‘Why Peace Fails’, 9–13.
3 ‘Agreement on the Resolution’.
4 Vertin, ‘A Poisoned Well’, 14.
5 Sudan Tribune, ‘SSOA Holdout Groups’; ‘SSOA-TC Changes Its Name’; ‘IGAD Threatens to Label’.
6 Hauenstein, Joshi, and Quinn, ‘Report of the Peace Accords’, 27–30.
7 Bodtker and Jameson, ‘Emotion in Conflict Formation’, 261.
8 Johnson, South Sudan, 295–6.
9 Young, The Fate of Sudan, 3, 19, 20, 25; Genovese, The Political Economy of Slavery, 15, 23.
10 Scott, ‘The Sudan Peoples’ Liberation’, 71; Hutchinson, ‘A Curse from God?’ 310–11; Johnson, South Sudan, 9, 46–8; Brosché and Höglund, ‘Crisis of Governance’, 78.
11 Young, The South Sudan Defence, 13; Jok and Hutchinson, ‘Sudan’s Prolonged Second’, 126; Blanchard, ‘The Crisis in South Sudan’, 6; Brosché and Höglund, ‘Crisis of Governance’, 77.
12 ‘Peace Agreements in a Near’, 12.
13 A Fractious Rebellion inside the SPLM-IO, 10.
14 de Waal, ‘When Kleptocracy Becomes Insolvent’, 365.
15 Ryle et al., The Sudan Handbook, 215; Arnold, ‘The South Sudan Defence’, 449–501.
16 Young, The South Sudan Defence, 23–4.
17 Lewicki, McAllister, and Bies, ‘Trust and Distrust’, 438.
18 Rousseau et al., ‘Not so Different After All’, 394.
19 Ibid., 395.
20 Trust, Trust Development and Trust Repair in The Handbook of Conflict, 92.
21 McKnight, Cummings, and Chervany, ‘Initial Trust Formation’, 474–5; Trust, Trust Development and Trust Repair in Deutsch et al., The Handbook of Conflict, 96.
22 ‘Initial Trust Formation’, 473.
23 Lewicki, Trust, Trust Development and Trust Repair in Deutsch et al., The Handbook of Conflict, 93.
24 McKnight, Cummings, and Chervany, ‘Initial Trust Formation’, 478.
25 ‘Political Settlements’, 11.
26 Shapiro, Sheppard, and Cheraskin, ‘Business on a Handshake’, 366–72; Lewicki and Bunker, Trust in Relationships, 142.
27 Rousseau et al., ‘Not so Different After All’, 398–9; Lewicki in Deutsch et al., The Handbook of Conflict, 95.
28 Trust, Trust Development and Trust Repair in The Handbook of Conflict, 96.
29 ‘The Experience and Evolution’, 536–7.
30 McKnight, Cummings, and Chervany, ‘Initial Trust Formation’, 475.
31 Ramsbotham, Woodhouse, and Miall, Contemporary Conflict Resolution, 112.
32 Working with Conflict, 29–30.
33 Baker and Edwards, ‘How Many Qualitative Interviews?’ 8.
34 Mack et al., Qualitative Research Methods, 29; Ritchie and Lewis, Qualitative Research Practice, 5.
35 Boyatzis, Transforming Qualitative Information, 30.
36 Sudan Tribune, ‘Summary of the Oversight’; Sudan Tribune, ‘NAS Rebels Accuse Juba’.
37 Sudan Tribune, ‘US Sanctions Delaying Peace’.
38 Aljazeera, ‘South Sudan: Salva Kiir’.
39 Aglionby, ‘South Sudan Warring Rivals’; Khartoum Declaration of Agreement, ‘IGAD - Khartoum Declaration’.
40 Reeves and Sudan Tribune, ‘Economic Collapse in Sudan’; Younes, ‘Sudan PM’; Dabanga, ‘Fears of Economic Collapse’.
41 Young, A Fractious Rebellion inside the SPLM-IO, 53.
42 Radio Tamazuj, ‘Juba Concerned Over’.
43 ‘Violence, Peace, and Peace Research’, 183.
44 BBC News, ‘South Sudan Rivals’.
45 Wils et al., ‘The Systemic Approach to Conflict Transformation’, 15; Hamber, Kelly, and Democratic Dialogue (Organization), A Place for Reconciliation? 23.
46 ‘Escaping the Symbolic Politics’, 201–2.
47 Barkin, ‘Realist Constructivism’, 333.
48 Johnson, ‘Briefing’, 169–70.
49 Craze, Tubiana, and Gramizzi, A State of Disunity, 102; Sudan Tribune, ‘US Sanctions Delaying Peace’.
50 ‘Institutionalizing Peace’, 319.
51 Africa Research Bulletin, ‘SOUTH SUDAN’, 21120.
52 Craze, Tubiana, and Gramizzi, A State of Disunity, 102; Young, ‘Riek Machar and the SPLM-IO’, 16.
53 McEvily, Perrone, and Zaheer, ‘Trust as an Organizing Principle’, 95.
54 Murphy, A Moral Theory of Political, 14.
55 Trust in Organizations, 249–52.
56 ‘Dealing with Betrayal in Close’, 957–8.
57 Elangovan and Shapiro, ‘Betrayal of Trust in Organizations’, 548.
58 Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, ‘The Constitution of Sudan People’s Liberation’, 43.
59 United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), ‘Report of the Commission’, 8.
60 Juba Declaration, ‘Juba Declaration on Unity and Integration’.
61 Relief Web, ‘Thousands of Citizens Gathered’.
62 Miall, ‘Conflict Transformation’, 78.
63 Hamber, Kelly, and Democratic Dialogue (Organization), A Place for Reconciliation? 43.
64 Berghof Foundation, Berghof Glossary on Conflict, 37.
65 Craze, Tubiana, and Gramizzi, A State of Disunity, 23; Human Rights Watch, Sudan, Oil, and Human Rights, 100.
66 A Fractious Rebellion inside the SPLM-IO, 17.
67 From Guerrilla Movement, 36.
68 Berghof Glossary on Conflict, 37.
69 Khan, ‘Political Settlements’, 10.
70 Contemporary Conflict Resolution, 246.
71 A Moral Theory of Political, 9–10.
72 ‘Counseling Within the Forgiveness’, 108.
73 ‘Political Settlements’, 5–6.
74 Rousseau et al., ‘Not so Different After All’, 400.
75 Shapiro, Sheppard, and Cheraskin, ‘Business on a Handshake’, 376.
76 Das and Teng, ‘Between Trust and Control’, 492.
77 Berghof Foundation, Berghof Glossary on Conflict, 37.
78 Young, ‘Riek Machar and the SPLM-IO’, 46; Radio Tamazuj, ‘South Sudan’s Amum Unveils’.
79 Nyamilepedia Press, ‘We Have Agreed to Reunite’.
80 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), ‘Revitalised Agreement’, 62–4.
81 Fisher et al., Working With Conflict, 147.
82 Afako, ‘Reconciliation and Justice’, 65–7.
83 A criminal justice court to be set by the AU comprising of South Sudanese and other African judges.
84 A Fractious Rebellion inside the SPLM-IO, 34–5.
85 ‘The People’s Peace?’ 296.
86 African Union Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan (AUCISS), ‘Final Report of the African’, 299, 304.
87 United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), ‘Report of the Commission’, 13.
88 United States Institute of Peace (USIP), ‘South Sudan Crisis’.
89 Soldiers Assume We Are Rebels, 47.
90 African Union Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan (AUCISS), ‘Final Report of the African’, 304.
91 United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), ‘Report of the Commission’, 126.
92 Boege, ‘Traditional Approaches to Conflict’, 9.
93 Ashworth, ‘How South Sudan’s Churches’.
94 Bradbury et al., Local Peace Processes in Sudan, 14; Craze, Tubiana, and Gramizzi, A State of Disunity, 58.
95 Reychler and Paffenholz, Peacebuilding, 130–2.