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The Two Sudans

Map of the Two Sudans (Courtesy: BBC News)

Featured Publications & Tools

  • Eye on the Two Sudans

    Experts from USIP are monitoring developments in the two Sudans following South Sudan's declaration of independence on July 9.

  • Year in Review: The Two Sudans

    Director of USIP's Two Sudans program, Jon Temin, reflects on the birth of the world's newest nation, South Sudan, and looks ahead to 2012 and USIP's continued impact in the region.

  • State Building in South Sudan

    With its secession from Sudan on July 9, 2011, South Sudan not only gained its eagerly-awaited independence, but also embarked onto the long road of state building. Over the past several months, the new country has begun to confront the myriad challenges it faces in sustainable development, good governance, and capacity building. In addition, the world's newest state is also coping with cross-cutting issues of managing resources, constructing a sense of nationhood, and contending with problems particular to youth and women. These reports begin to address some of the central challenges to statebuilding in South Sudan.

All Publications & Tools

Latest from USIP on The Two Sudans

  • February 1, 2012   |   Publication
    Global Change, Peacebuilding and USIP

    USIP leaders explain the effect that events around the world and here at home will have on the U.S., and the contributions the Institute can and does make during a time of tremendous challenge – and opportunity.

  • January 27, 2012   |   Publication
    The Politics of Oil and a Proposed Pipeline for South Sudan

    USIP's Jon Temin and Raymond Gilpin take questions on recent events in South Sudan, where a controversial plan to build an oil pipeline across Kenya was recently announced.

  • January 25, 2012   |   Publication
    Health in Post-Conflict and Fragile States

    Civilian health, health care workers, and health facilities disproportionately suffer in countries experiencing severe instability, but global health donors have yet to make developing health systems in such states a priority. Doing so could both make populations healthier and contribute to state legitimacy.

  • January 17, 2012   |   Publication
    Customary Law Plays Critical Role in Countries in Conflict, Experts Say

    Existing systems of customary justice should be seen as a continuing and important part of international efforts to support justice reform in countries hit by conflict, a group of specialists said at the January 12 public launch of a book published by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP).

 

Overview

On July 9th, 2011 the Republic of South Sudan declared independence, resulting in the most significant redrawing of the map of Africa since decolonization. Both new Sudans face a series of internal and external challenges to peace. The two nations’ trajectories are inherently intertwined given their collective history, current political and economic situations, and the set of outstanding issues related to secession that are still being negotiated, from citizenship to border demarcation to oil revenue sharing. Critical to the future of both countries is how each government accommodates marginalized populations, including in Darfur, eastern Sudan and the Nuba Mountains in the north, and the array of ethnic groups in the south.

While southern secession marks a new era in the Sudanese conflict, many issues remain unresolved and decisions made by both states could lay a foundation for sustainable peace or reignite violence and propel either country, or the region, back to war. The U.S. Institute of Peace is engaging on many of these key issues in an effort to help build a more peaceful, stable and secure Sudan. 

Read the Year in Review by the Director of USIP's Two Sudans Program, Jon Temin

Rebels in Nuba (Courtesy: NYT Syndicate)The Republic of Sudan

In the Republic of Sudan, governance issues related to the marginalization of many groups from the central concentration of wealth and power in Khartoum remain at the heart of the ongoing conflicts throughout the country, including in Darfur. Along the border, violence has erupted in Abyei, Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile, as the peripheries of Sudan continue to agitate for increased autonomy through the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)-mandated popular consultation process. Moreover, with South Sudan’s secession, the Republic of Sudan is facing increased economic hardship due to lost oil revenues, and the Arab Spring revolts have the potential to shake the current National Congress Party regime.

Take a More In-Depth Look at the Situation in Sudan and learn more about USIP’s work
Read a news release about our recent workshop on the future of the Darfur Peace Process

South Sudan Independence (Courtesy: NYT Syndicate)

South Sudan

While South Sudan has achieved its long-awaited independence, the state-building and nation-building processes are just beginning. In addition to developing the infrastructure of the country from the ground up – from roads and hospitals to a new constitution – the world’s newest state faces political challenges of establishing credible institutions, supporting the massive influx of returnees, and demobilizing tens of thousands of soldiers and militia men and women.  While security threats from internal and external militia persist across South Sudan, the country must begin to accommodate its ethnic and tribal diversity and work towards a more peaceful future.

 

Going Forward: USIP's Work in Sudan

Since 2005, USIP experts have focused on helping to build peace and stability in Sudan, working through partnerships with the U.S. Department of State, nongovernmental organizations in Sudan, and key stakeholders. USIP’s current programs focus on:

 

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