Department of Political Science

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Browsing Department of Political Science by Author "Amdahl, Lars Kjeang"

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    Beyond secession : a critical analysis of the comprehensive peace agreement and the peace process in Sudan
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013-03) Amdahl, Lars Kjeang; Swart, Gerrie; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Political Science.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: One of Africa’s longest civil wars ended for the second time in 2005, when the leaders of the government of Sudan and Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and Army signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. This action initiated an interim period which culminated with a referendum for the people of Southern Sudan, to decide if they wanted unity or to secede from the north. Through using theories of power sharing and secession this thesis argues that the Sudanese conflict is not resolved after the referendum in South Sudan. The focus of this thesis is to illustrate how the first peace agreement in 1972 failed to deal with root causes and to implement structures that would be acceptable for that part of the population which did not identify with the central elite. Lessons from this process are integral to understand why the secession does not provide the autonomy and prospects of peace that the South and the negotiators intended. This study will provide a thorough assessment of the process from the failure of the Addis Ababa Agreement in 1972 to the making of- and contents of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005. Although there are many positive aspects to the recent agreement, this study will reveal how the North will keep asserting its dominance through controlling the oil sector and using the unresolved border areas for political gain. In addition, the new structure has changed power structures in both areas, which has left many opposing groups in Sudan in a worse situation than before; thus, the further marginalized people in Darfur, the Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile are the real losers in the post-CPA era. As often portrayed, the peace in South Sudan does not only depend on development, but on external influence from the region and especially their relationship with the regime in Khartoum, despite the construction of an autonomous state.