Sudan’s Civic Future: Mapping Medania, Resistance, and Democratic Aspirations

Authors: Raga Makawi and Matthew Sterling Benson-Strohmayer

This policy brief emerges from research conducted amidst Sudan’s rapidly shifting political landscape, particularly in the wake of the 2019 revolution and the April 2023 war. It aims to capture the voices and visions of civic actors shaping Sudan’s democratic future from below. Sudan’s ongoing 2023 conflict has underscored the central role of civicness (medania) in resisting militarised rule and imagining alternative forms of governance. This policy brief maps the evolving terrain of civic and revolutionary thought in Sudan, based on interviews, workshops, and field engagement with diverse civic actors. The insights here are particularly timely as humanitarian and development interventions by the FCDO and other donors are scaling up for post-war recovery.

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