South Sudan
After gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan has endeavored to establish its own government despite persistent challenges — including a civil war from 2013-2018, delayed progress in implementing a peace deal, mass flooding and food insecurity. Working on issues related to South Sudan for almost 20 years, USIP advances good governance and local and national security through deploying support to mediation efforts and initiatives to prevent violence. Through its trusted relationships, convenings, trainings and research, USIP informs South Sudanese, regional and U.S. policies in the pursuit of American interests.
Featured Research & Analysis
South Sudan’s people have spoken on peace. Is anyone listening?
The United States played a key role in the emergence of South Sudan as an independent state 10 years ago. Yet today, U.S. policy toward the country is insufficient to address the continued violence or promote sustainable peace. Even so, it is not too late for U.S. policymakers to embark upon a renewed push for peace. To move forward, they should listen to what South Sudan’s people said in the recently concluded National Dialogue and incorporate its recommendations in diplomatic, humanitarian and development strategies for the country.
Conflict and Crisis in South Sudan’s Equatoria
South Sudan’s civil war expanded into Equatoria, the country’s southernmost region, in 2016, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee into neighboring Uganda in what has been called Africa’s largest refugee exodus since the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Equatoria is now the last major hot spot in the civil war. If lasting peace is to come to South Sudan, writes Alan Boswell, it will require a peace effort that more fully reckons with the long-held grievances of Equatorians.
The South Sudan Peace Process Archive: A Window into Mediation
As part of its commitment to learning from peace processes, the U.S. Institute of Peace is pleased to launch the South Sudan Peace Process Archive, which aims to provide South Sudanese citizens, mediators, policymakers, academics and other interested readers a window into the 2013-2015 negotiations that attempted to end the conflict that began in South Sudan in late 2013. Documents for this archive were first assembled and organized in 2016. Now, archive curators and former peace process advisers Zach Vertin and Aly Verjee discuss their motivations for assembling and organizing the documents and what they hope the archive can contribute to future peace processes.
Current Projects
South Sudan Peace Process Archive
The South Sudan Peace Process Archive was created with the cooperation of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), with funding from the U.S. Department of State. The objective of this Archive is to provide South Sudanese citizens, regional actors, mediators, policymakers, academics, and other interested readers a window into the 2013-2015 negotiations that attempted to end the conflict that began in South Sudan in late 2013. The Archive is also intended to facilitate comparative study in conflict mediation and to help inform other peace processes.
Generation Change Fellows Program
Generation Change works with young leaders across the globe to foster collaboration, build resilience and strengthen capacity as they transform local communities.
Religious Landscape Mapping in Conflict-Affected States
Diplomats and peace practitioners often cite lack of familiarity with the religious landscape as a barrier to their engagement of religious actors. In 2013, USIP launched an initiative to address this need by developing a methodology for systematically mapping and assessing the religious sector’s influence on conflict and peace dynamics in discrete conflict settings. These mappings, which have been done or are underway in Libya, South Sudan, Iraq and Burma, help illuminate recommendations for effective partnerships within the religious sector for peacebuilding.