This post discusses the political history of South Sudan which includes the colonization, independence, civil war and the politics of South Sudan.
HISTORY
The history of South Sudan comprises the history of the territory of present-day South Sudan and the peoples inhabiting the region.
South Sudan seceded from the Republic of Sudan in 2011. Geographically, South Sudan is not part of the Sudan region at all (the Sahel), forming as it does part of Sub-Saharan Africa. In modern terminology, it does, however, include parts of the East Sudanian Savanna. Its inclusion in “Sudan” is due to the southward expansion of the Ottoman Khedivate of Egypt in the 19th century, and its consequent inclusion in Mahdist Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan and the Republic of Sudan during 1885 to 2011.
Read: POLITICAL HISTORY OF SUDAN
South Sudan is mostly inhabited by Nilo-Saharan speaking peoples, with Niger-Congo speaking minorities. Historically, what is now South Sudan was dominated by Central Sudanic speaking peoples, but the presence of Nilotic peoples can be assumed from prehistoric times as well. Since about the 14th century, following the collapse of the Christian Nubian kingdoms of Makuria and Alodia, the Nilotic peoples gradually came to dominate the region.
EARLY HISTORY
1805-1899: EGYPTIAN CONQUEST AND BRITISH COLONISATION
The area comprising present-day Sudan and South Sudan was subject to conquest and colonization for millennia. In the early 16th Century, the Ottoman Empire and Funj Sultanate conquered much of the former Nubian Empire, and historians point to the reign of Muhammad Ali of Egypt as a key turning point in the Sudanese slave trade.
Geographical boundaries, including the White Nile River, led to a majority-Arab north Sudan and a largely Black African south, and slave raids in Sudan were largely focused on the southern region of the territory. The British attempted to abolish slavery in the region as they began to take power throughout the 19th Century. These were largely ineffective (and helped undermine development in the south).
At the turn of the 20th Century, the United Kingdom and Egypt struck a joint-governance agreement that left Sudan effectively a British colony. This made abolition efforts more successful. However, British officials and missionaries focused their resources on the north, to the exclusion of the historically-marginalized south, which left the territory chronically underdeveloped in terms of education, healthcare, and even basic infrastructure.
1947-1956: UNIFICATION AND INDEPENDENCE
Nearly 50 years later, at a conference in what is now the South Sudanese capital of Juba, an advisory council agreed to more fully integrate governance of southern provinces with the north. Five years later, the Egyptian Revolution removed British influence over the country and, because of the previous arrangement between both countries, also led to Sudan gaining independence from both Britain and Egypt. This agreement was reached in October, 1954, and took effect on January 1, 1956.
REPUBLIC OF SUDAN
The region has been negatively affected by two civil wars since before Sudanese independence, resulting in serious neglect, lack of infrastructural development, and major destruction and displacement. More than 2.5 million people have been killed, and more than five million have become externally displaced while others have been internally displaced, becoming refugees as a result of the civil war and war-related impacts.
1955-1972: THE FIRST SUDANESE CIVIL WAR
History isn’t always sequential. Four months before Sudan’s official independence, the First Sudanese Civil War broke out, with the Sudanese government representing the north and a unified separatist movement pushing to make the south an independent state. The conflict lasted for 17 years, until an agreement signed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, led to the creation of the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region (SSAR).
1983-2005: THE SECOND SUDANESE CIVIL WAR
In 1983, Sudanese president Gaafar Nimeiry declared the country an Islamic state and revoked the autonomy of the majority-Christian SSAR. The Second Sudanese Civil War broke out in response to this, although the southern coalition was split into more factions this time, largely dividing along ethnic lines. More South Sudanese died due to local infighting than at the hands of northern forces, including the brutal Bor Massacre of 1991 and a resulting famine which, combined, claimed the lives of an estimated 27,000. At 22 years, it was the longest civil war in African history.
After more than two decades of conflict and casualties exceeding 2.5 million, a Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed in Nairobi in 2005 between the Sudanese government and Southern Sudan. Southern Sudan was made a semi-autonomous region and guaranteed a referendum on independence within six years. After the death of Sudanese Vice President John Garang, South Sudanese politician Salva Kiir Mayardit was appointed both Vice President of Sudan and Vice President of Southern Sudan.
2010-2011: INDEPENDENCE
In April of 2010, with 93% of the vote, Kiir was re-elected president of Southern Sudan.
The following year, Southern Sudanese people voted on secession from Sudan, with nationals casting votes from around the world. After nearly a month, and with an even more overwhelming majority of 98%, South Sudanese nationals voted to separate from Sudan. South Sudan was first recognised as an independent nation on July 9, 2011, making it the 54th country in Africa and the 193rd country to join the United Nations.
While largely seen as peaceful, South Sudan’s independence was not free of violence, and conflict was reported in nine of the country’s ten states in 2011.
CONSTITUTION
The Transitional Constitution of South Sudan (TCSS) was drafted in 2011 as a temporary document in place of a permanent constitution. It is the constitution of South Sudan until a permanent constitution is ratified. Because of the transitional nature of the TCSS, it favors a decentralized governmental system. Prior to the 2011 independence referendum, the Interim Constitution of South Sudan was the constitution of the then-autonomous Southern Sudan.
The National Legislature of South Sudan, the country’s legislative body, is composed of the National Legislative Assembly and the Council of States.
The executive branch of government is headed by the president. Under the TCSS, the president’s term lasts for two consecutive 5-year terms. However, in April 2015, South Sudan’s parliament voted to extend Kiir’s term to 9 July 2018. A new vote held in July 2018 further postponed South Sudan’s first election until 2021. The president has vast powers in creating and dissolving state powers during times of emergency. Kiir demonstrated this power in the dismissal of his entire cabinet in 2013.
POLITICS OF SOUTH SUDAN
The politics of South Sudan concern the system of government in the Republic of South Sudan, a country in East Africa, and the people, organizations, and events involved in it.
As a region of the Republic of Sudan, South Sudan gained autonomy in 2005 with former rebel leader Dr. John Garang becoming the President of New Sudan and the Vice President of Sudan. Garang’s death in 2005 led Salva Kiir Mayardit taking over as President and Riek Machar as the Vice President. Full independence from the Republic of Sudan was gained, following a referendum in 2011.
2013-2015: OUTBREAK OF THE SOUTH SUDANESE CIVIL WAR
As tensions continued to simmer, civil war was officially declared in South Sudan two years after its statehood. Insecurity reached a breaking point in July of 2013, when President Kiir fired his entire cabinet, including Vice President Riek Machar, after accusations of a coup d’etat. After a few months of relative calm, violence erupted in December of 2013 and fighting broke out between government forces and soldiers loyal to Machar.
By March of 2014, 1 million South Sudanese had been forced to leave their homes due to violence, including 800,000 who were internally displaced within their own fragile country. That number more than doubled by May of 2015, when new UN estimates put the number of South Sudanese displaced by fighting at 2.2 million. This forced migration crisis also caused food shortages and increasing rates of disease, in keeping with the connection between conflict and hunger. Amid threats of sanctions, President Kiir signed a new peace deal with Machar in August, 2015.
2016-2018: A FRAGILE PEACE, RENEWED CONFLICT, AND A CONSEQUENTIAL FAMINE
As part of a deal to end South Sudan’s civil war, President Kiir reinstated Riek Machar as Vice President. Machar was sworn in on April 26, 2016. Less than six weeks later, fighting broke out once again between government forces and soldiers loyal to Machar. Hundreds were left dead, and Machar fled the country. Kiir appointed Taban Deng Gai as his vice president.
By the end of 2016, the United Nations warned that the country was at risk of “outright ethnic war” and sought an arms embargo against South Sudan. The embargo was blocked, and fighting continued. The conflict also contributed to a famine declared in parts of Unity State in June of 2017. Tenuous ceasefire leading to renewed instability and subsequent famine is not unique to South Sudan’s situation, but the 2017 famine serves as a clear example of the pattern that has repeated so often throughout history.
2018-2022: AS VIOLENCE CONTINUES DESPITE PEACE, AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE
In September, 2018, a second agreement was signed between the South Sudanese government and its main political opposition. The deal offered some hope for peace, but a hard road forward for making that hope a reality. In 2019, 7 million South Sudanese were left hungry in the wake of conflict-related food insecurity. The United Nations declared that ‘without scaled-up humanitarian assistance, more and more people are at risk.’ It also stated that sexual violence against women and girls remained ‘endemic.’
Armed conflict continued through 2020 (a year that saw Machar re-sworn in as Vice President), and the United Nations secured an arms embargo while maintaining a peacekeeping mission in the country, largely seen through Protection of Civilian (PoC) sites that house the majority of the country’s 1.3 million internally-displaced people. In April of 2021, as South Sudan approached its 10th birthday, the UN warned that the delayed peace process and drafting of a national constitution could lead to a full-scale conflict.