Events

Seminars, discussions and more from PeaceRep consortium members.

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Sudan

PeaceRep research in Sudan

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Sudan’s twin transition from armed conflict and authoritarian rule has been stalled since the military coup of October 2021 and the installation of a military junta under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. In April 2023, tensions escalated further between al-Burhan and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (“Hemedti”), the leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), resulting in violent clashes breaking out in Khartoum.

As of early May 2023, violence has spread across the country as the two generals continue to fight for control, leading some analysts to predict the beginning of an ongoing civil war.

Track and monitor the implementation of peace and transition processes for Sudan via the PA-X Tracker.

People line-up to vote at a polling station during the second day of voting for the independence referendum January 10, 2011 in Juba, Sudan.
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Since the 2021 coup, Sudan has also faced a deep economic crisis, in which extractive politics can either be subverted or entrenched by ongoing shifts in the national, regional, and international political economies. Ongoing political instability risks deeper fragmentation for Sudan’s peace processes. Amidst the conflict and instability, Sudan’s civic communities continue to demonstrate the power of civic movements to meaningfully resist the coercive politics that defines the nature of governance in Sudan.

PeaceRep’s Sudan research is examining Sudan’s democratic transition through the development of policy analyses and academic research rooted in robust evidence bases gathered in Sudan, South Sudan, and from across the world.

Our Sudan research explores a number of themes, including civic inclusion in peace and economic processes; the role of digital technologies in the violation and application of humanitarian law and consequences for famine prevention; and natural resource management.

Sudan is also a key element of our work in the Global Transitions series, which looks at fragmentations in the global order and how these impact peace and transition settlements.

Sudan peace agreements since 1990 can be accessed via the PA-X Peace Agreements Database, including the Juba Peace Agreement of 3 October 2020.

 

Team

PeaceRep’s Sudan research is led by the Conflict and Civicness Research Group at London School of Economics and the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (CTPSR) at Coventry University. The project is delivered in collaboration with World Peace Foundation, Tufts University.

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Sudan Research and Analysis

The PeaceRep Sudan research team are considering the implications of the 2023 conflict for current research and forthcoming reports.

PeaceRep researchers and research partners have published recent reports offering insights and recommendations relevant to the current situation in Sudan.

Relevant Partner Research

Sustaining Momentum: Seizing the opportunity for SSR in Sudan (LSE; World Peace Foundation)

Sudan: A Political Marketplace Framework Analysis (World Peace Foundation)

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Publications (alternative view)

Navigating the Horn: Turkey’s Forays in East Africa

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This report analyses the understandings and motivations underlying Turkey's peacebuilding engagement in East Africa, and outlines potential future developments.

Resistance Committees and Sudan’s Political Future

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AUTHORS: Abbashar

This policy brief highlights how support from various stakeholders can develop Sudanese resistance committees' capacity for social protection and humanitarian relief provision.

China and Russia in Sudan: Surveying Data on Economic and Military Engagement

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AUTHORS: Peter / Plichta

Data on economic and military engagement by non-Western actors supports some existing understandings of their engagement with peacemaking in Sudan, while challenging others.

Third-Party Mediation in Sudan and South Sudan: Longer-Term Trends

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AUTHORS: Houghton / Peter

This analysis of data on third-party mediation in Sudan and South Sudan signals important longer-term trends for conflict mediation efforts.

Post Architecture: Sudan's Competitive Marketplace of Transition Management

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AUTHORS: Pospisil

This report discusses how mediation efforts in Sudan need to accept the multiplicity of processes, if peace and transitional progress are to be achieved.

The Everyday Politics of Sudan's Tax System: Identifying Prospects for Reform

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AUTHORS: Alneel / Benson / Makawi

Decades of revenue centralisation has inadvertently supported formal and informal sub-elites that present both threats to and opportunities for reform.

Fragmented Transitions in the Context of Competitive Regionalism: The Case of Sudan

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AUTHORS: Jenner / Pospisil

Exploring how the regional and international constellation around Sudan provides a difficult and non-conducive environment for the country's twin transition from both armed conflict and authoritarian rule.

Resolving Water Conflicts: Dispute Settlement Mechanisms Applicable to International...

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AUTHORS: Daza-Clark

This report sets out the international legal framework for conflict avoidance or resolution, with a focus on mechanisms available to states with transboundary water disputes.

Sudan’s Enduring Transition: Evolving Arrangements after the Fall of Bashir

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AUTHORS: Pospisil

This PA-X Spotlight report describes how the overthrow of Sudan's long-term military ruler Omar al-Bashir was triggered by a broad civil-society-based movement, supported by the Sudanese military...

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Since the fighting began, PeaceRep Sudan researchers and contributors have offered analysis and commentary on the emerging situation in the media.

 

Description Date
Alex de Waal (PeaceRep – LSE Conflict and Civicness Research Group (CCRG) / World Peace Foundation, Tufts University) and analyst Kholood Khair sat on the Al Jazeera Inside Story panel, Could standoff in Sudan turn into a civil war? 14 April 2023
Jan Pospisil (PeaceRep – Coventry University) appeared live on TRT World to comment on the outbreak of RSF – SAF fighting 15 April 2023
Alex de Waal contributed to The Conversation: Sudan conflict: Hemedti – the warlord who built a paramilitary force more powerful than the state 17 April 2023
Raga Makawi (PeaceRep – LSE CCRG) was quoted in the New York Times: Fighting in Sudan Traps Families as Generals Fail to Keep a Ceasefire 18 April 2023
Alex de Waal wrote Sudan’s New War and Prospects for Peace, World Peace Foundation/Tufts University 19 April 2023
Alex de Waal and Kholood Khair were quoted in the New York Times: Sudan’s Generals Dined with Peace Negotiators, Then Started a War 19 April 2023
Alex de Waal was quoted in the Washington Post: Generals’ war chests have fueled fighting in Sudan. Now they’re at risk 19 April 2023
Alex de Waal appeared on VOA Africa: Sudan in Crisis 19 April 2023
Alex de Waal wrote Sudan is tearing itself apart and Washington lost its capacity to help in Responsible Statecraft 20 April 2023
Jan Pospisil appeared live on TRT World to comment on the likelihood of protracted conflict 21 April 2023
Willow Berridge, Justin Lynch, Raga Makawi and Alex de Waal co-wrote Sudan’s Unfinished Democracy: The Promise and Betrayal of a People’s Revolution, included in the New York Times article: Books to Help Understand Sudan [subscriber access only] 21 April 2023
Raga Makawi wrote a personal account of the conflict in Khartoum, published by The Economist: My desperate search for safety in Sudan [registration required] 22 April 2023
Matthew Benson (PeaceRep – LSE CCRG) discussed the importance of involving civic groups in ceasefire negotiations on CGTN Europe 24 April 2023
Jan Pospisil discussed how urban conflict is impacting Sudanese civilians with Nicky Campbell on BBC Radio 5 25 April 2023
Jan Pospisil appeared on TRT World to offer insights into the conflict on 25 April and 28 April 25, 28 April 2023
Jan Pospisil featured on BBC Midlands 26 April 2023
Matthew Benson appeared on Al Jazeera: The Listening Post 29 April 2023
Alex de Waal was quoted in the New York Times op-ed, Does America Realize That Sudan Is Too Big to Fail? 2 May 2023
Jan Pospisil appeared on CGTN Europe to comment on the likelihood of negotiations commencing in Sudan 3 May 2023
Jan Pospisil appeared on TRT World to comment on the possibility of conflict spreading to the wider region 6 May 2023
Alex de Waal wrote an article, The Revolution No One Wanted, published in the London Review of Books 10 May 2023
Jan Pospisil gave a live interview via TRT World discussing reasons for the SAF withdrawal from a ceasefire deal. 1 June 2023
Jan Pospisil gave a live interview via TRT World commenting on U.S. aid to Sudan and neighbouring countries. 21 June 2023
Jan Pospisil gave a live interview via TRT World commenting on support for Sudan’s conflicting military forces. 26 June 2023

 

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