Put away the anger, South Sudan will never know peace without Kenya’s help
The August 2015 peace agreement in South Sudan is in mortal danger. RVI senior researcher Aly Verjee argues in the East African that the collapse of the process will destabilise South Sudan further, with untold consequences for neighbouring states. President Kenyatta’s disappointment and anger at the decision to sack Gen Johnson Ondieki for the failures […]
My Mother Will Not Come to Juba report launch
In South Sudan, delays in the formulation of a new national constitution have led to growing public concern. My Mother Will Not Come to Juba: South Sudanese Debate the Constitution is the record of a series of public lectures and discussions held at the University of Juba in March 2013. The launch of the report, which is […]
Slavery in the Sudans: Human rights and local moral worlds
John Ryle, Executive Director of the Rift Valley Institute, spoke on ‘Slavery in the Sudans: Human Rights and Local Moral Worlds’ at a conference on The Arts of Human Rights sponsored by the Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of Witwatersrand (WISER) and Bard College, New York. The three-day event featured presentations […]
Why calling for a ceasefire in South Sudan can be a bad idea
This article was written by RVI Fellow Aly Verjee. On 23 March, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, speaking to the United Nations Security Council, declared: “There can be no real dialogue for as long as South Sudan is ravaged by fighting.” “All parties must respect an immediate cessation of hostilities,” he said. “As President, Salva […]
Sudan Studies Society Annual Symposium
The annual general meeting of the Sudan Studies Society of the United Kingdom took place in London at the School of Oriental and African Studies on 13 September. The event was held in association with the Royal African Society. The day-long programme featured a panel on South Sudan with speakers including RVI Fellows Douglas H. Johnson, the historian of South […]
A debate on federalism at Juba University
More than seven hundred people attended a lecture on federalism at Juba University on Saturday 5 July. The lecture was delivered by Rift Valley Institute Fellow Douglas H. Johnson and organised by RVI Fellow Luka Biong Deng, formerly Minister in the Office of the President. Dr Johnson’s talk was introduced by John Akec, Vice-Chancellor of […]
ALD panel session on South Sudan
The conflict in South Sudan has entered its fourth year and the situation continues to deteriorate for many desperate civilians. There is an urgent need for the citizens of the East African region to impress upon their leaders the urgency and unacceptability of the situation and to call them to action to end the suffering. […]
Britain, Sudan and the “Southern Policy”
Under the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium, the South of Sudan was treated very differently to the North. For Major-General Herbert Kitchener, the British assault in southern Sudan on September 2nd 1898 was an exercise in both conquest and revenge. 13 years after Britain’s Governor-General in Sudan had been killed in Khartoum, this latest operation had involved years […]
Sudan–the second time as tragic farce
This article was written by RVI Fellow Magdi El Gizouli. It was originally published on Africa is a Country and republished with permission from the author. For six years rebel forces in Sudan’s South Kordofan and Blue Nile states (the Two Areas) have been battling the Sudanese government. Round after round of negotiations mediated by the African Union (AU) […]
South Sudan: the diaspora of objects and the future of tradition
A Norman castle in the north-east of England may not seem an obvious place to discuss the cultural heritage of South Sudan. But the university library here—next door to Durham castle—is the location of the most significant archive of colonial-era documents outside Sudan and South Sudan. And in recent years Durham University has become a centre for research into Sudanese history, […]