Leadership, Nation-building and War in South Sudan: The Problems of Statehood and Collective Will (Peace, Society, and the State in Africa)

"For over fifty years, the people of South Sudan fought for the right to be citizens of an independent nation-state. When this goal was finally achieved, however, it quickly became evident that the South Sudanese nation was not nearly as cohesive as hoped. The result has been a catastrophic civil war. Spanning South Sudan's nation-building struggle from its inception up until the current civil war, this book challenges the notion that the continued violence of this process can be reduced to either identity difference or the fault of individual leaders. Rather, it uses the leadership process to understand the complex progressions and relationships that have characterised South Sudan's nation-building trajectory. The book argues that the core driving force behind the current conflict in South Sudan can be found not in ethnicity, the "resource curse" or power struggle, but in a set of destructive relationships that have fueled violence and oppression in the country for the better part of a century. This cyclical leadership process has entrapped the country in an increasingly destructive and contradictory nation-building process that continues to spiral and disintegrate"-- Provided by publisher Cover Halftitle page Series editor Title page Copyright page Dedication Contents Figures Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction Fault and Fault Lines: Leadership and Identity in South Sudan ‘Many people do things on the idea that tomorrow “I will go to another country” South Sudan: In search of nation and state Understanding nationhood and leadership Chaos or pattern: The fractal-like nature of South Sudan’s nation-building trajectory A note on methodology and structure ‘All along living a refugee life’ Part One Origins: The Southern Sudanas People, Polity and ‘Problem’ (c. 1821–1983) 1 Conquest and Colonization Introduction Identity construction: The birth of ‘the other’ Statehood in early Sudan Challenges for collective will and collective responsibility in early Sudan Conquest and colonization in early Sudan: The leadership challenge Conclusion 2 Independence and Rebellion Introduction Identity construction and contestation in modern Sudan The opposing forces of state-building and nation-building in modern Sudan The emergence of collective will and responsibility and its continued challenges Independence and the First Civil War in Sudan: Leadership and power in a shifting context Interlude between wars: The Addis Ababa Peace Agreement and the ‘return’ to conflict Interlude between wars: The leadership gap becomes evident Conclusion Part Two The War Continues: The Fight for Nation and State (1983–2002) 3 War and New Leadership Introduction Fluctuating narratives and perceptions of identity in the midst of conflict Contradictory narratives of statehood and nationhood The emergence of collective will and collective responsibility? A return to civil war: A leader emerges Conclusion 4 Inner Turmoil Introduction A multiplicity of identities: New fault lines (re-)emerge Statehood and nationhood in the midst of war The disintegration of collective will and collective responsibility? Inner turmoil: Leadership, power and influence Conclusion Part Three Independence and Civil War: Building a State, Forgetting a Nation (2002–15) 5 Negotiating and Implementing Peace Introduction Negotiating peace Implementing peace (2005–11) Conclusion 6 Freedom, Fragility and Fragmentation Introduction ‘Us’ without ‘them’: In search of a national identity Building a state for whom? The demarcation, contestation and limitation of the South Sudanese state Collective will and collective responsibility without the collective threat Secession and the descent into civil war: The recurrent leadership gap Conclusion Conclusion Introduction How is identity constructed through leadership and what is the relationship between identity construction and peace and conflict? How does the relationship between the nation and the state build and sustain peace or conflict? How does collective will and collective responsibility form to promote either peace or conflict? Conclusion Bibliography Index