Politics in a post - conflict state : lessons for the south Sudan

Abstract EN

This paper attempts to explain why states which have undergone periods of protracted liberation struggles are likely to experience political instability in the post-conflict period and what lessons a future Southern Sudanese state can learn from the experiences of these states so as to avoid such political instability.

The paper contends that the possibility of this occurring would be fuelled by the demands that different Southern stake-holders could put on the state for the division of the limited economic and political pie.

The evidence for the comparative study is taken from Algeria, Indonesia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, countries which had variously undergone protracted liberation struggles similar to that waged by the Sudan People's Liberation Army / Movement.

The study concludes that in all of these states, the regimes that followed were unable to meet the demands made upon them to satisfy the immediate expectations of those who had participated in the revolutionary wars.

Furthermore, revolutionary wars, even when fought under conditions which fostered unity among the revolutionary forces, were not necessarily integrating agents.

The paper suggests that the future regime of an independent Southern Sudan should be aware of these political pitfalls and avoid them by resolving the millenarian demands of the various stake-holders in the political system of the South.