Making borders and identities in South Sudan

Territory and territoriality: retrospect and prospect

“…For people in contested zones, such as the Ferghana Valley in central Asia where Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan intertwine, state efforts at nation-building and associated territorial demarcation have very real impacts (Megoran 2017). Border areas may assume a very central importance for newly emerging states such as South Sudan where central government needs to be seen to assert control and, in doing so, to reinforce ideas of national identity (Frahm 2015).…”

“…In colonial (and former colonial) societies, for example, where land has been appropriated, a strong sense of ownership and defence may persist through succeeding generations, so that a collective memory of struggle for land ownership serves as a potent motivating force reflecting a material, and not simply sentimental, underpinning to an attachment to the land (Crowley 2006). The struggle for independence itself becomes a unifying thread in efforts to build a sense of nationhood so that the territory assumes its own significance, particularly in states with considerable ethnic diversity (Frahm 2015).…”

First there were 10: the case for and against South Sudan's new states using discourse analysis and argumentation theory

“…Accordingly, all the community-authored press releases by communities that do not share the president's ethnicity oppose the new states and argue against the move, citing that it is annexation of their land. Already constituting a ‘social capital’ (Deng 2010) and ‘powerful bond and a prime marker of identity’ (Frahm 2015: 253), ethnic ties are further politicised and mobilised (Roessler 2016), particularly in such times in South Sudan, for the benefit of political elites. Though as McMichael (2016) argues, not every land conflict in the South Sudanese context originates in ethnic differences, the compounding of the social links ethnic identities nurture, coupled with the political mobilisation and involvement of those identities, may explain this divide.…”

Political Ecology of Health of South Sudanese Immigrants and Refugees in Ottawa

“…The ongoing conflict has greatly attributed to tensions between South Sudan's 60 to 100 ethnic, cultural and linguistic groups, often referred to as tribalism (Cook, 2011;Jok, 2011). Although no longer unified against an oppressive North, negative othering against a perceived enemy has continued between these groups, both in the community, and within official circles of the state (Frahm, 2015). Disagreement between political leaders, underrepresentation of ethnic groups within government and the subsequent rebellions throughout the country has greatly hindered nation building efforts and social and economic development (Jok, 2011).…”

“…Disagreement between political leaders, underrepresentation of ethnic groups within government and the subsequent rebellions throughout the country has greatly hindered nation building efforts and social and economic development (Jok, 2011). Thus, the state has been unable to harness its ethnic and cultural diversity to its advantage, and to deliver on promises of security and basic services (Frahm, 2015;Jok, 2011). Consequently, a country ravaged by the longest civil wars in post-colonial Africa, is one of the poorest countries in the world, and continues to suffer from extreme underdevelopment.…”