South Sudan: The Elusive Quest for a Resilient Social Contract?

Civil Wars in Sudan and South Sudan

“…This gap in the literature of civil war causation made some scholars to move debate beyond grievances and greed and argued instead that civil war is a manifestation of dearth or revocation of social contract (Murshed 2009, p. 31;Cuesta and Murshed 2008). In the case of Africa, it is argued that the recurrent civil wars may be better explained by the unfinished social contractmaking process in countries that are at war from within (Kuol 2020). Despite its recognition in the causation of civil wars, the concept of social contract lacks appropriate definition and operationalization into a framework to better analyze and address civil wars.…”

“…The overwhelming decision of the people of South Sudan to secede from Sudan came as a result of the failure of the ruling northern elites to make unity attractive and to transform diversity to become a driver for development, unity, and social cohesion. Although the CPA obligated the parties to work together in making the option of unity attractive to the people of South Sudan, the attractiveness of secession prevailed for both parties (Kuol 2020). The NCP feared unity might endanger its political Islam agenda, while the SPLM abandoned its "New Sudan" agenda of united secular Sudan after the death of its leader, Dr. John Garang, and embraced secession as critical for winning its political base in South Sudan (Kuol 2020, p. 64).…”

“…Instead of affirming the decentralized federal system as provided for in the 2005 ICSS, the ruling elites approved the post-independence 2011 TCSS that adopted instead a centralized and autocratic unitary system of government. This system of government was not only a unitary system but it has also given excessive powers to the president such as dismissal of elected state governors, dissolution of elected state parliament, and dismissal of senior judges without due process of law and that undermine the checks and balances (Kuol 2020).…”

“…This transitional process created a widespread sense of exclusion that is reminiscent of the feeling of exclusion that made the people of South Sudan want to leave Sudan (Jok 2011, p. 5). The post-independence ruling elites in South Sudan have followed the footpaths of the post-independence northern Sudanese ruling elites by rejecting the federal system and establishing instead autocratic unitary system (Kuol 2020).…”

Resilient Social Contracts and Peace: Towards a Needed Reconceptualization

“…In South Sudan ruling elites failed to address CCIs consistently and coherently from independence. Kuol (2020) illustrates how this failing, coupled with weak and exclusive institutions, constitutes a key factor behind renewed violent conflict and a severe deterioration of state-society and inter-ethnic relations. The BiH authors suggest the everyday social contract shows potential for facilitating virtuous, interactive movement of the drivers (Belloni and Ramović 2020).…”