In South Sudan delays in the making of the national constitution have led to public concern. My Mother Will Not Come to Juba: South Sudanese debate the constitution is the record of three evenings of public lectures at the University of Juba. Speakers at the event examined the reasons for the delay, the issues at stake in the drafting of the legislation and the question of public…

In December 2013, South Sudan descended into conflict. Peace initiatives over the following eighteen months culminated in an agreement between government and armed opposition, signed in August 2015. While the agreement came into effect in late 2015, many uncertainties surround its implementation. Do previous conflicts and agreements hold useful lessons? Academics, activists and church…

In March 2014, the Rift Valley Institute (RVI), through the Rift Valley Forum, together with the University of Gothenburg convened a regional conference on stabilization at the Kenya School of Government in Nairobi. The conference attracted some ninety participants from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Somalia and South Sudan—people involved in civil society, government, the UN and…

With the formation of a Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) and the subsequent outbreak of violence in Juba in July 2016, the role of civil society in South Sudan is more vital than ever. Can a civil society, confident and well resourced, contribute to the political discourse, engage in nation building, hold public institutions to account and improve the transparency of public…

In April 2016, seventeen chiefs from different parts of South Sudan gathered in Kuron Holy Trinity Peace Village, in Eastern Equatoria, to discuss the role of customary authority in governance—past and present—and their own contribution to peacemaking and a future political transition. The Chiefs’ meeting at Kuron was the first time that traditional leaders from areas on opposing sides of the…

Mogadishu has for more than two decades been one of the most highly contested cities in the world. Since the collapse of President Siyad Barre’s government in early 1991, it has been the object of both military and political struggles almost without interruption. This report considers the current state of land governance and the nature of continuing land disputes in Mogadishu, which remains…

South Sudan’s refugee communities have, and have always had, considerable influence on the way that the country’s civil wars evolve. In this study, through research undertaken both in South Sudan and in one of the most active global South Sudanese communities in Australia, the team has attempted to take a broader perspective to understand the nature of this impact—and the mechanisms through…