Understanding the underlying drivers of armed conflict in South Sudan

The crisis in South Sudan remains one of the most overlooked humanitarian tragedies in the world today. Since falling into civil conflict in December 2013, South Sudanese civilians have endured repeated, ethnically based attacks and a proliferation of armed groups. An estimated 400,000 people have been killed as a result of the fighting, a third of the population (over 4.3 million people) has been displaced, and 6.5 million people face acute food insecurity.

On the occasion of the release of the book, The Struggle for South Sudan: Challenges of Security and State Formation (I.B. Tauris), edited by Luka Biong Deng Kuol and Sarah Logan, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies hosts a panel discussion to assess the fundamental challenges to stability in South Sudan including impediments to state formation and national identity, the need for a social contract, the securitisation of governance, the role of ethnicity, and the lack of accountable leadership. Panellists, including several of the book's contributors, represent decades of experience grappling with these issues in South Sudan.

Chair

Dr. Joseph Siegle -Director of Research, Africa Center for Strategic Studies

You can watch the full event below.