South Sudan: Elites, Ethnicity, Endless Wars and the Stunted State

A critical analysis by Peter Adwok Nyaba of the socioeconomic and political failures of South Sudan’s leaders. South Sudan, the highly hyped youngest state in Africa, is in a deep social, economic, and political crisis marked by low-intensity civil war, immense suffering, and material deprivation. Hundreds of thousands of people are internally displaced in United Nations protection sites, and three and a half million have crossed international borders to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. The elites, whether political, military, or economic, constitute a determinant force in state formation and the nation-building project in post-colonial transitions. Nyaba argues that the absence of a scientific understanding of South Sudan’s socioeconomic and political configuration has obfuscated the liberation struggle, generated ethnic nationalism, and produced a parasitic class completely alienated from the masses. A must-read for South Sudanese intellectuals who want to reshape the country’s development trajectory.