Note to the reader: This blog post is intended for readers who desire a short introduction to current affairs in South Sudan. The text is an adaptation of a brief originally written in Norwegian and titled “Sør-Sudan: fra fest til katastrofe”. That brief is intended for a secondary school audience and was published in May… Read more »
Democratise or disintegrate: how the AU can help South Sudan
The excerpt below is from a recently published report by Amanda Lucey and Liezelle Kumalo at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). It is part of a broader project called ‘Enhancing African responses to peacebuilding’ by three partner organisations – ISS, the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and New York University’s Center on International Cooperation (CIC)…. Read more »
South Sudan – Uganda Relations: The Cost of Peace
The excerpt below is from a recently published article by PRIO Senior Researcher, Øystein H. Rolandsen and Doctoral Researcher, Tove Heggli Sagmo with the assistance from Fanny Nicolaisen. The article was published in ACCORD’s “Conflict Trends” magazine, Issue 4, 2015. This work was supported by Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, section for Peace and Reconciliation…. Read more »
Norway’s Role in South Sudan’s Independence
In an interview, 21 November with the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, Øystein. H. Rolandsen at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) explains why it is a misunderstanding to hold Norway and other Western countries accountable for South Sudan’s secession. The Norwegian government and civil society organisations have for decades been extensively engaged in efforts to bring… Read more »
Small and Far Between: Peacekeeping Economies in South Sudan
New open access article by Øystein H. Rolandsen in Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding. This work was supported by the Research Council of Norway (RCN) under the NORGLOBAL programme. Abstract The massive expenditure on UN peacekeeping missions combined with a significant commitment of personnel and infrastructure creates ‘peacekeeping economies’ within host societies. We need to understand… Read more »
PRIO Global Fellow, Luka Biong Deng: ‘If Garang were to attend the 4th anniversary of independence!’
July is a special month for the people of South Sudan during which they celebrate their independence as the most important achievement in their political struggle. Also in July, they commemorate together with the marginalized people of Sudan the loss of their Great Leader, Dr John Garang. As 9th of July is approaching, the people… Read more »
A cause of war or an impetus for peace? Uganda’s economic interests in South Sudan
UPDF’s intervention in South Sudan indicates Uganda’s strong interest in the new country. Security and regional stability seems to be the chief motives, but various economic interests also crop up in discussions about Uganda’s involvement. It is, however, difficult to assess the importance of this dimension since the extent and nature of Ugandan economic activities… Read more »
The cost of Uganda’s military intervention in South Sudan
Photo source: New Vision-Uganda, www.newvision.co.ug The Government of Ugandan deployed the Ugandan People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) in South Sudan shortly after the outbreak of the third civil war on 15 December 2013. The intervention was instrumental in hindering further escalation of violence during the first weeks of the conflict, but now critical voices in Uganda… Read more »
Dead economy walking in South Sudan
Ever since early 2012, South Sudan’s imminent economic collapse has been routinely predicted. Impressions from a recent visit to Juba indicate that this time around it might be more to these divinations than before. The economic crisis is compounded by a de facto break-down in peace negotiations and South Sudan faces a formidable threat to… Read more »
“A year of South Sudan’s third civil war”
The abstract below is from a recently published, peer-reviewed article in International Area Studies Review. The article is based on the output of the Monitoring South Sudan blog over the last year, and takes an empirical look at how South Sudan’s civil war has evolved since the outbreak in December 2013. The article is written… Read more »