The purpose of this book is to understand how and why “liberators” of South Sudan have become perpetrators of ethnically driven violence. How and why did violence happen immediately after independence in South Sudan? South Sudan slid into civil war in December 2013, just two years after winning its hard-won independence. A great deal has been written about the conflict and violence of this period, much of which emphasizes the notion that the root causes of the conflict can be traced to the ethnic division and hatred among the population or the lack of state capacity to manage ethnic diversity and hostilities. However, the existing literature exhibits important analytical gaps, focusing primarily on the state of the violence and the immediate political history of South Sudan dating back to its political independence in 2011, but lacking critical analysis of historical and anthropological interpretations of state and society. This book addresses these gaps in knowledge and understanding and in so doing seeks to explain how and why liberators become perpetrators of violence, and how the intersection of the legacies of slavery, colonialism, and national liberation struggle contributed to violence in South Sudan. Through a comprehensive exploration of identity and violence within the broader context of state formation, the book sheds light on why those who sought sovereignty may turn against their own, drawing parallels with colonial discourse. It aspires to provide nuanced frameworks and empirical insight for scholars, students, practitioners, and policymakers engaged in South Sudan, politics, development, and peacebuilding.

Using more than a decade's worth of fieldwork in South Sudan, Clémence Pinaud here explores the relationship between predatory wealth accumulation, state formation, and a form of racism—extreme ethnic group entitlement—that has the potential to result in genocide. War and Genocide in South Sudan traces the rise of a predatory state during civil war in southern Sudan and its transformation into a violent Dinka ethnocracy after the region's formal independence. That new state, Pinaud argues, waged genocide against non-Dinka civilians in 2013-2017. During a civil war that wrecked the region between 1983 and 2005, the predominantly Dinka Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) practiced ethnically exclusive and predatory wealth accumulation. Its actions fostered extreme group entitlement and profoundly shaped the rebel state. Ethnic group entitlement eventually grew into an ideology of ethnic supremacy. After that war ended, the semi-autonomous state turned into a violent and predatory ethnocracy—a process accelerated by independence in 2011. The rise of exclusionary nationalism, a new security landscape, and inter-ethnic political competition contributed to the start of a new round of civil war in 2013, in which the recently founded state unleashed violence against nearly all non-Dinka ethnic groups. Pinaud investigates three campaigns waged by the South Sudan government in 2013–2017 and concludes they were genocidal—they sought to destroy non-Dinka target groups. She demonstrates how the perpetrators' sense of group entitlement culminated in land-grabs that amounted to a genocidal conquest echoing the imperialist origins of modern genocides. Thanks to generous funding from TOME, the ebook editions of this book are available as Open Access volumes from Cornell Open (cornellpress.cornell.edu/cornell-open) and other repositories.

Sudan has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. After decades of civil war, rebel uprisings and power struggles, in 2011 it gave birth to the world’s newest country – South Sudan. But it’s not been an easy transition, and the secession that was meant to pave the path to peace, has plunged the region into further chaos. In this updated edition of his ground-breaking investigation, Jok Madut Jok delves deep into Sudan’s culture and history, isolating the factors that continue to cause its fractured national identity. With moving first-hand testimonies, Jok provides a decisive critique of a region in turmoil, and addresses what must be done to break the tragic cycle of racism, poverty and brutality that grips Sudan and South Sudan.

South Sudan: Elites, Ethnicity, Endless Wars and the Stunted State is likely to achieve its objective of stimulating debate about the future of South Sudan as a viable polity. The hope is that readers, through the debate generated by this book, will rediscover the commonality that marked the struggle for freedom, justice, and fraternity, and abandon ethnic ideologies as a means of constructing a modern state in South Sudan. South Sudan: Elites, Ethnicity, Endless Wars and the Stunted State is a must-read for South Sudanese intellectuals who want to reshape the socioeconomic and political development trajectory.

The Politics of Ethnic Discrimination in Sudan: A Justification for the Secession of South Sudan addresses the historic and contemporary tensions between South Sudanese (African) and Sudanese (Arab) border ethnicities - the Dinka (Malual), Reizegat and Misseriya. By exploring the dynamics of colonialism, nomadism, civil war, slavery\abuductions, resource- sharing and politics, Dr. Wol (who is Malual), provides a nuanced and balanced perspective of a century-long, interethnic, cross-border conflict, situated in the heart of Africa. Insightful and informative, this is an essential read for anyone interested in the many, seemingly- intractable conflicts, like this one, that are located arcross the globe.

This 15-page report highlights a recent surge in ethnic violence and the failure of the government of Southern Sudan and the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) to protect civilians. In March and April 2009, armed civilians from the Lou Nuer and Murle ethnic groups in Southern Sudan's Jonglei state killed an estimated 1,000 men, women, and children, and abducted about 150 women and children in vicious attacks and counter-attacks. Government officials knew the conflict was brewing but did not take steps to prevent it or protect civilians, nor did the UN mission address the impending violence, said Human Rights Watch.--Publisher description.