Sudan Peace Process: Challenges and Future Prospects

This volume is an anthology of chapters, which were presented at a conference convened in Pretoria by the Africa Institute of South Africa on 5 February 2004, to assess the undertakings of the Sudanese peace process. One of the dominant features of the history of the Sudanese conflict, which most observers seem to identify with ease, is that it is enshrouded with complexities, and that the dynamics of its resolution would require complicated and multifaceted mechanisms. The parties to the conflict have varied views on the origins and the causes of the conflict, notably the political and economic diversities that seem to characterised the relationship between the North and South of the country. Moreover, the nature of the Sudanese divergence has, over the years, been transformed from a purely economic and political imbalance between the Northern and Southern regions, to what some have referred to as a conflict between Arab Muslims and African Christians. This volume addresses the covers these disparate themes and focuses on issues that are directly linked to the dynamics of the ongoing efforts by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which has been tasked with brokering the Sudan peace process. The book is divided into three parts. The first part addresses the issues raised by, and the positions of the stakeholders, with regard to the outcome of the conflict, namely the IGAD mediators, the Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). The second part deals with the regional and international dynamics and their implications on the Sudanese peace process. It also addresses such issues as oil politics and the future dynamics of the diverse and multifarious alliances among and between the Sudanese political groups. The third and last part is concerned with the legal implications of the agreements, thus far signed between the warring parties. It also deals with the subject of democracy, as well as the importance of South-South dialogue.