Jan Pospisil shares Sudan conflict insights on BBC Radio

With a tenuous ceasefire in effect and thousands fleeing the country, the world’s attention is focused on Sudan as the effects of the ongoing civil conflict are being felt on a global scale.

As peace-builders and mediators seek out avenues for peace negotiations, researchers and experts have been sharing insights on the background to the current conflict.

PeaceRep’s Dr Jan Pospisil, Associate Professor at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations at Coventry University, featured on Nicky Campbelll’a live BBC Radio 5 programme on 25 April, to share insights on the current conflict from his research findings.

Dr Pospisil discussed how fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum is ultimately causing the most detriment to the city’s civilians, due to the strategic location of the army’s military installations within the city. The location of military installations also means that the conflict occurring is not a “war of control”, according to Dr Pospisil, but rather a “cat-and-mouse game” for the military groups involved.

Listen back to the radio programme on BBC Sounds (Dr Pospisil features from 04:00)

Dr Pospisil’s latest PeaceRep report was published on Monday 24 April, discussing how insistence on one unitary peace process for Sudan has resulted in rising tensions between the military regime and the civilian opposition, resulting in conflict escalating to a point of open civil war. The report outlines progress in a peaceful transition for Sudan requires an approach that accepts “the multiplicity of complementing and, at times, competing processes”.

Access the report – Post Architecture: The Competitive Marketplace of Transition Management in Sudan

As recent events in Sudan demonstrate, the quest for short-term stabilisation can fail, undermining long-term peacebuilding and democratisation and resulting in the outbreak of armed violence. A unitary approach to peace process mediation can create significant stumbling blocks for transitional progress. The reality of the post-architectural transitional landscape requires a principled, pragmatic approach that accepts the multiplicity of complementing and, at times, competing processes.

Other experts on Sudan within the PeaceRep research team have shared findings and insights on the conflict via media outlets in recent weeks, and have authored reports that provide further insight into efforts towards a lasting peace agreement for Sudan. A full summary of PeaceRep research insights and analysis on the Sudan conflict is available, and is currently being updated regularly.

Access PeaceRep’s summary of analysis on the Sudan conflict

Learn more about PeaceRep’s Sudan research