Sudan and South Sudan: Accounting for Their Intractable Conflicts

This paper examines the persistence of violent conflicts in the two Sudans. It examines standard macro-approaches to conflict resolution—democracy, inclusiveness, intervention, secession, as well as the more radical “let-them-fight” thesis—to demonstrate the limitations on the ability of outsiders to manage the conflicts. It concludes that relying on these approaches alone is not likely to lead to meaningful and lasting conflict resolution. The causes of Sudan’s and South Sudan’s wars run deeper than a failure to be inclusive and are instead connected to the nature of the state in Africa.