Panel #3A:

"Reasons for Conflicts"



Wars of Colonization and Genocides: Exploring Peculiarities of the "Civil Wars" in the Post-Anglo-Egyptian Sudan

Lako Tongun
Pitzer College, USA

In its "Note on Education" in 1938, the (Sudan's) Graduate Congress (GC) expressed the following sentiment:

In numerous aspects of our life we have much in common with the Arab countries of Islamic Orient which is due to our descent. We therefore consider that education in this country should take an Islamic Oriental character and not a pagan African one, or in other words that Arabic Language and Religious instructions should receive the greatest possible care in all stages of education (quoted in Mohamed O. Beshir, Educational Development in the Sudan, 1898-1956, Oxford: Clarendon, 1969, p.237)

The sentiment captures the heart and the foundation of the attitudes and the ideology of the Northern "Arab" ruling elites, since the end of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1956. That is to say, the 38-year "civil wars" in South Sudan, and to some extent, the current tragedy in Darfur, represent the implementation of the savage soul of the exclusive nationalist ideology of G.C. and its inheritors, under different regimes in Khartoum.

The objectives of this paper are (1) to interrogate a question on what constitutes a "civil war" (when there is an absence of civil society) and the forms or characteristics it assumes, in contrast to a "war of colonization"; (2) to explore the peculiarities of the Sudanese "civil wars", for example, the unprecedented declaration and invocation of jihad, by National Islamic Front regime against the South, and its logical trajectory towards genocidal policies; the exploitation of natural resources and land grabs for the benefits and the settling of the "Arabs"; and the marginalization of the "Africans" in the South, the West, the East, etc.; and (3) a critical examination of the constitutionalism of the Post-Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, which has consistently denied cultural recognition to the "African cultures" (as defined by GC), as well as the cultural diversity which should be the hallmark of constitutional frameworks. The pursuit of Islamic constitution and the sovereignty of shari'a law, by all the Khartoum regimes, is the epitome of the G. C. sentiment. The main conclusion is that the "Sudanese civil wars" exhibit characteristics which conform to wars of colonization and genocide


Oil in Ethnic Conflict

Ashley Hamilton
University of British Columbia

Civil conflict in Sudan has a long and bloody history.  It incorporates the core elements of modern conflict today:  religion, ‘tribalism,’ ethnicity, nationalism, and resource capture and control.  Conceptualizing the Sudanese conflict and understanding it within a theoretical context is a difficult task and one is hard pressed to find a single analytic lens from which the conflict can be adequately examined and understood.  I will argue that labelling the civil conflict in Sudan as simply ‘ethnic’ in nature fails to address the functional aspects of violence.  Constructed ethnic and religious affiliations split along the lines of North versus South have been powerful tools for elites on both sides of the conflict to cement identities, exclude others, and justify actions taken in pursuit of economic profit and control of land and oil wealth.  The politics of oil will be examined in relation to claims of ethnic grievance, demonstrating that economic agendas are powerful motivators for violence and collective action as well as driving factors in the persistence of war and social unrest in Sudan.  This paper proposes the need to shift conceptual logic that views war as the end and ethnic conflict as the means, to one that views power, resource wealth and profit as the end, and war, human rights abuse and ethnic conflict as the means.

Resource Curse' in Sudan: The Case of Oil

Leben Nelson Moro
University of Oxford, UK

Using the case of oil development in South Sudan, this paper elucidates the problems that Sudanese inhabiting resource-rich parts of the country have experienced since colonial times. Like colonial rulers who preceded them, Sudanese leaders have used the country's resources to satisfy their greed and develop their places of origin. Consequently, the northern part of Sudan, from which virtually all national elites originate, is the most developed. The western, eastern and southern parts of the country have lagged behind.

Uneven development of the country generated a backlash from marginalized Sudanese peoples, which invited harsher actions by national elites zealously defending their privileged position at all cost. In the oil-producing parts of South Sudan, the indigenous people have been 'ethnically cleansed' from their ancestral homelands by the Sudanese army and its allies in 'tribal' militias to secure oil exploration and exploitation. Hence, national elites have manipulated ethnicity and religion to consolidate their hold on the oil-rich territories. Moreover, oil revenues have enabled the national elites to acquire deadly weapons, which have been used to suppress real and suspected opponents.


Are Conflicts Being Preconditions of Democracy, Rights and Development in Africa

Saif Eldin D Abdelrahman
IRC, Sudan

The last two decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of countries having internal serious conflicts.  Yet, nearly every where in Africa, it has been argued liberal representative democracy has been accepted as the best method of managing political conflicts by bringing different interest groups.  The spread of conflicts about authoritarian, poverty, identity, and human rights are the dominant characteristic factors fueling African conflicts.
Existing literature on conflicts management particularly in Sudan tend to give pride picture in term of first best solution to the state through conferences, workshops or other advisory procedures to politics of the government rather than reflecting the deeper ability of multi-dimensional development that societies seeks.
Lonsdale (1986:130) argued that "it is quite possible to have accountability in…the high politics of the state, honest rulers and free elections, and yet profound injustice or irresponsibility in the deep politics of society, that is, the relations between rich and poor, powerful and weak". In words, what is needed in most conflict zones is the politics of inclusion (democratizing democracy). 
Most of the analysts attribute the recent conflict in Dar-fur back to agro-pastoralism conflicts over natural resources, Afro-Arab conflicts fueled by government through politicization and militarization of Arab ethnic groups. In fact, most of the analysis reflect narrow view and are not deeper to explain the recent conflict. The continuation in such analysis rationalized the irrationality in analyzing conflicts.
The conflict of 1987-89 between Afro -Arab ethnic groups was under guise democratic government and the recent one under despotic regime. However, there were imbalances on power sharing and are not sufficient to resolve deep-seated conflicts or at least predicting of ethnic and racial divides.
The Dar-fur crisis rising important following question to the future unity of Sudan and how making unity "attractive" to the southern region. How can integrative tendencies be encouraged while the government sent bad racial signal that considered as the key inclusive confidence-building mechanisms? 
Taking the case study of Dar-fur, the paper seeks to link the recent conflicts with the view of development economics from two prospective: first, self -evaluation based on personal familiarities as witness to the conflicts and the notion of whether the conflicts become a necessary condition or costly stage for Democracy, Rights and Development in Africa. Finally, derives lessons from conflicts and development economics theories on whether the conflicts can be designed in a manner that lead to avoid humanitarian crisis on one hand, and what are needed in new generation of recommendation for regional and international organizations in coordination of humanitarian assistance when the conflicts being unavoidable.

Ideology in the Southern Sudan and the role of Southern Intellectuals since Independence

Øystein H. Rolandsen
Researcher, Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO)

Syopsis: One aspect of the Southern Sudan’s history since independence is the forming of an intellectual elite of the South. Southerners have had little access to education at a level higher than primary school, but still, during the late years of colonialism an intellectual elite started to emerge and demanded to be heard in issues related to the governing of the South as well as the Sudan at large. The elite has been renewed and steadily expanded and have participated in both governments and rebel groups. Members of the elite have been influential in shaping the ideology and political outlook of the people of the Southern Sudan, and at the same time voiced popular opinions. The Southern elite has also been influenced by international ideological currents such as anti-colonialism, Marxism and the current discourse on Human Rights, democracy and good governance. The paper will present research in progress related to Southern Sudanese intellectuals and their role in the contemporary history of the Sudan, with emphasis on the South.