Jonathan Temin

Though protection of civilians is primarily the responsibility of South Sudan’s young government, United Nations peacekeepers, often outnumbered by armed groups, have been executing quick deployments to security hot spots in order to deter or stop violent attacks, Hilde Johnson, special representative of the U.N. secretary-general and head of the U.N. Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS), told an audience at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) on March 8.

South Sudan may be the world’s newest country, but its five-decade struggle for freedom, peace, and independence from Sudan won wide international support and led to formal statehood on July 9, 2011. Though long-term hopes for a successful democracy remain high and the young government in Juba enjoys significant U.S. and international support, South Sudan’s initial period as a nation-state has included some troubling signs of heavy-handed, undemocratic actions.

From the idea of an interfaith center in Baghdad to prospective programs encouraging Burmese media to contribute to peace, USIP experts discuss conflict resolution and peacebuilding efforts in 2012 and plans for this new year in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Burma, the two Sudans and more.

The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) on December 18 hosted a public meeting, examining the growing instability in Mali: “Crisis in Mali: Causes and Options.”

United States Institute of Peace (USIP) President Jim Marshall welcomed General Carter Ham, the commander of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), to the Institute on November 30 for a discussion about USIP’s expanding work on the continent.

Sudan and South Sudan reached a deal recently over the fees South Sudan would pay to Sudan to move oil from the oil-rich South through Sudan to northern ports, ending a contentious period in which both sides appeared to be far apart from each other about how to pay the fees.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton this week left for a tour of Africa, including a visit to the world’s newest nation of South Sudan. USIP is providing seed funding and advisory support for the Sudd Institute, a new nongovernmental policy institute based in Juba. By helping to build South Sudan's capacity to develop and implement smart policies, USIP is fostering the new nation's ability to address the sort of instability and conflicts that have plagued other states in transition and led to deeper, more costly international involvement.

In some countries, the unexpected death of a president sets off a chaotic scramble for power, with constitutional guidelines for succession largely ignored. But faced with just that predicament, Ghana went the opposite route.

South Sudan celebrates the first anniversary of its formal independence and nationhood on July 9. Though hopes for progress remain high, the young nation is struggling on several fronts—internal security, relations with Sudan, development, rule of law and statebuilding. The specialists at the U.S. Institute of Peace who work on conflict management and peacebuilding programs in South Sudan examine the gains made and the many challenges ahead.

USIP's Jonathan Temin discusses verdict in the trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, who was recently sentenced to 50 years in prison by the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

Violence once again has flared up between Sudanese and South Sudanese forces in an oil-rich region on their disputed border. Jon Temin, director of USIP's Sudan programs, discusses what's behind the renewed fighting and what is at stake for the region and international community.

Amid intensified fighting in the disputed area along the South Sudan and Sudan border, USIP has been on the ground in both nations, assisting officials and civil society groups to develop constitutions in an inclusive, participatory and transparent manner.

Despite dire predictions of violence around the referendum on the secession of southern Sudan, the vote in 2011 was largely peaceful. Understanding why is key to future efforts to prevent conflict.

USIP hosts an online roundtable among three experts on the crisis with oil in Sudan and South Sudan and how it might unfold. 

Jonathan Temin, director of Sudan programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace, testified on the situation in Sudan and South Sudan before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 14, 2012.

USIP experts look back at 2011 and ahead to 2012 on the Two Sudans, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Arab/Israeli conflict, gender issues, and more.

Though significant humanitarian needs in South Sudan continue, the government of the world’s newest nation wants international aid to shift toward long-term development efforts, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, South Sudan’s minister of information, told an audience at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) on December 13.

The government of Sudan should halt its military attacks in border regions adjacent to newly independent South Sudan and meet all of its obligations under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), Johnnie Carson, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said during a conference at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) on July 14.

USIP’s Jon Temin provides a preview of South Sudan’s upcoming independence on July 9.

The exclusionary governance that led South Sudan to secede from the rest of Sudan continues to bedevil the government of the new Republic of Sudan to the north. Both the July secession and the Arab Spring could provide the impetus the ruling party needs to lead national governance reforms and to engage its diverse citizenry in making a new constitution.

H.E. Dr. Jean Ping, Chairperson of the AU Commission, discussed the role that the African Union continues to play in creating peace and establishing security in Africa.

In the past year, Sudan has successfully passed two milestones established by its Comprehensive Peace Agreement: national elections in April 2010 and a referendum this January on independence for the country’s south. Many analysts and commentators feared, in both cases, that an eruption of violence could block the path to a peaceful resolution of the north-south conflict laid out in the historic 2005 accord.

USIP's Jon Temin assesses the preliminary results of Sudan's referendum, in which 99 percent voted for the south's secession. The final results are expected to come out in mid February.

His Excellency General Salva Kiir Mayardit, first vice president of Sudan and president of the Government of Southern Sudan, met with international leaders, including President Barack Obama, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last week about Sudan’s highly anticipated referenda scheduled for January 2011. In advance of the U.N. meetings, Kiir spoke at the United States Institute of Peace on September 20.

The seven-year conflict in Darfur, Sudan has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Darfuris and left millions homeless, amid clashes among various rebel groups, government forces and allied militias. In what could be a step towards ending that conflict, the Sudanese government and the Darfuri rebel group, Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), signed a cease-fire agreement on February 23, 2010.

Most international attention devoted to Sudan has focused on the nationwide elections and the 2011 referendum on the status of southern Sudan.  Yet, there are other aspects of the north-south dynamic deserving of discussion and strategic thinking that don't receive their due.  In a new Peace Brief, USIP's Jon Temin examines six important issues and questions that require more consideration as the decisive events in Sudan’s political history approach.

Across the globe, media have been used as tools to inflame grievances and accelerate the escalation towards violent conflict. In Rwanda, radio was used to lay the groundwork for genocide.