Root Causes of Sudan's Civil Wars

Expanded third edition of this key text on the complex underlying
conditions of the civil war from the 1960s to the present day, including a new chapter on
the current wars in Sudan's new south and South Sudan.Sudan's post-independence history has
been dominated by political and civil strife. Most commentators have attributed the
country's recurring civil war either to an age-old racial divide between Arabs and Africans,
or to recent colonially constructed inequalities. This book attempts a more complex
analysis, briefly examining the historical, political, economic and social factors which
have contributed to periodic outbreaks of violence between the state and its peripheries. In
tracing historical continuities, it outlines the essential differences between the modern
Sudan's first civil war in the 1960s and today, including an analysis of the escalation of
the Darfur war, implementation of the 2005 peace agreement and implications of the Southern
referendum in 2011 and the new war in Sudan's new south and South Sudan. The author also
looks at the series of minor civil wars generated by, and contained within, the major
conflict, as well as the regional and international factors - including humanitarian aid -
which have exacerbated civil violence. This introduction is aimed at students of North-East
Africa, and of conflict and ethnicity. It is essential reading for those in aid and
international organizations who need a straightforward analytical survey which will help
them assess the prospects for a lasting peace in Sudan. Douglas H. Johnson is an independent
scholar and former international expert on the Abyei Boundaries Commission.