Why did governance and institutional establishments fail in Sudan and South Sudan?

ABSTRACT

Since its independence in 1956, Sudan has continued its search for an inclusive and sustainable system that will address the sociopolitical and economic needs of its diverse ethno-cultural and religious population. The post-independence political elites have adopted colonials’ traditions of political violence, subjective sociopolitical contracts and inequitable means of wealth distribution that only serve interests of the rulers. Consequently, the people of Sudan have lived through two bloody civil wars (1955−2005) that ended with the signing of Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and separation of South Sudan in 2011. The separation of South Sudan did not, however, lead to good governance, political stability, or economic and institutional development. The neo-SPLA/M political establishment has failed to initiate the process of nation-building and socioeconomic and political reforms that would return political power to the people. The military elites in both countries continue to undermine the endless quest for sustainable, equitable and inclusive social, economic, and political participation. The two nations continue to endure challenges posed by decades of violence tainted with unresolved ethnic and regional grievances and identity politics. Thus, lack of political will for conflict resolution, transformation to democracy and equitable power sharing has delayed all aspects of sustainable economic development, thereby fuelling everlasting political violence.

KEYWORDS:

• Sudan
• South Sudan
• political violence
• governance
• institutional reforms

Acknowledgement

I would like to acknowledge all anonymous reviewers for their efforts, time spent reviewing this work and constructive feedback they have provided. Also, I would like to extend my appreciation to the journal editors for their kind consideration of this paper for publication.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).