South Sudan: From Revolution to Independence (Columbia/Hurst) - Hardcover

Arnold, Matthew; LeRiche, Matthew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0231704143 ISBN 13: 9780231704144

Publisher: Columbia University Press, 2012

Synopsis

In July of 2011, the Republic of South Sudan declared independence from the north, effectively ending Africa's longest running civil war. The Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement, a primarily southern rebel and political force, achieved this outcome by initiating peace negotiations as a united front. Beginning in 2005 and lasting six years, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement made unity palatable to the south's diverse population and interests. While the agreement ultimately failed, it did result in southern Sudan's nearly unanimous vote for independence.Since then, violence has returned to the region, with many now fearing that South Sudan will devolve again into war. With the regime in Khartoum richly benefitting from factionalism, maintaining a durable peace seems impossible, and bringing any resolution to the issues that have long dogged Sudan's southerners -- ineffectual governance, widespread exploitation and resentment, and ethnic marginalization -- seem many years away. G

About this title

About the Author:

Matthew Arnold is an academic and aid worker specializing in post-conflict reconstruction. He is the coauthor of Militias and the Challenges of Post-Conflict Peace.

Matthew LeRiche earned his Ph.D. from King's College London and is a fellow in managing humanitarianism at the London School of Economics. He has been living and working in South Sudan and the surrounding region since 2004. Along with focusing on development, humanitarianism and civil war Dr. LeRiche also engages in emergency planning work, most recently concluding the emergency plan for the Port of St. John's in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Review:

LeRiche and Arnold elegantly explore the realities of state, politics, and society in the newest country in the world. This volume should generate more intellectual and popular discussion than anything published before or after the independence of South Sudan.

(Samson Wassara, University of Juba, South Sudan)

South Sudan is the world's newest independent state and one of its most troubled, confronting both an external threat from an aggrieved government in Khartoum and internal challenges, including the political dominance of a liberation army that retains its militant posture. Matthew LeRiche and Matthew Arnold provide an excellent guide to the complex history and prospects of an independent South Sudan.

(Alex de Waal, Tufts University, executive director of the World Peace Foundation)

A careful exposition. Written by two young political scientists who prefer grassroots inquiry to speculations from the ivory tower, this is a fine example of what a study of a war should be like.

(Mervyn Frost, King's College London)

A timely, impressively researched, and extremely important book that will become essential reading for students, scholars, and analysts. It not only elegantly analyzes the complex dynamics behind Sudan's two civil wars, exploring the origins and politics behind the historic secession of South Sudan, but also shows, in impressive detail, the strategic, ideological, and political struggles that eventually culminated in Sudan's partition.

(Khalid Mustafa Medani, McGill University)

This fine work will interest both general readers seeking to understand the new state of South Sudan and specialists wanting a ready reference. LeRiche and Arnold explain how John Garang's vision of a united, democratic, secular Sudan paradoxically led to its ultimate bifurcation.

(Scott Proudfoot, former director and chairman of Canada's Sudan Task Force)

About this edition

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0231704143
• ISBN 13: 9780231704144
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288