Examining the Prospects of Consociational Power-Sharing as a Conflict Resolution Strategy in South Sudan

South Sudan has not escaped the world’s attention even after the signing of the infamous Revitalized Peace Agreement in September 2018 that for the 12th time brought the two antagonists –Kiir and Dr. Machar to the negotiation table since the conflict began in 2013. Even with the aura of a shaky pea...

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Main Authors: Israel Nyaburi Nyadera, Michael Otieno Kisaka
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: UJ Press 2022-06-01
Series:African Journal of Political Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/ajps/article/view/1192
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author Israel Nyaburi Nyadera
Michael Otieno Kisaka
author_facet Israel Nyaburi Nyadera
Michael Otieno Kisaka
author_sort Israel Nyaburi Nyadera
collection DOAJ
description South Sudan has not escaped the world’s attention even after the signing of the infamous Revitalized Peace Agreement in September 2018 that for the 12th time brought the two antagonists –Kiir and Dr. Machar to the negotiation table since the conflict began in 2013. Even with the aura of a shaky peace, the main question is whether the new agreement will stand the test of time going by the history of the failed implementation of peace agreements. This paper recognizes the vital nature of the prevailing peace and questions about whether consociational democracy can be propped up during this period of relative peace. Discussions are hinged on the consociationalism theory that contains a broad array of principles, including power sharing, requisite for consociational democracy. It argues that although South Sudan’s context could favor consociational democracy, there are several barriers characterizing Sudan’s social and political spheres that should be alleviated. We elucidate on the barriers and suggest in broad strokes the need for strong independent institutions and vibrant civil society amongst others. We also recognize that overreliance on individuals in resolving the conflict is detrimental to the young nation, and there is a need for a citizen-centered approach that entrenches consociational principles in South Sudan’s political sphere.
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spelling doaj-art-72a0dcfd4d73459da0d44405b65bed772025-08-20T02:36:50ZengUJ PressAfrican Journal of Political Science1027-03531726-37272022-06-0110110.36615/ajpsrasp.v10i1.1192Examining the Prospects of Consociational Power-Sharing as a Conflict Resolution Strategy in South SudanIsrael Nyaburi Nyadera0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0432-6935Michael Otieno Kisaka1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3563-2863Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Middle East Technical University, University of Macau, University of NairobiMinistry of Interior and ministry of interior and Coordination of National Government South Sudan has not escaped the world’s attention even after the signing of the infamous Revitalized Peace Agreement in September 2018 that for the 12th time brought the two antagonists –Kiir and Dr. Machar to the negotiation table since the conflict began in 2013. Even with the aura of a shaky peace, the main question is whether the new agreement will stand the test of time going by the history of the failed implementation of peace agreements. This paper recognizes the vital nature of the prevailing peace and questions about whether consociational democracy can be propped up during this period of relative peace. Discussions are hinged on the consociationalism theory that contains a broad array of principles, including power sharing, requisite for consociational democracy. It argues that although South Sudan’s context could favor consociational democracy, there are several barriers characterizing Sudan’s social and political spheres that should be alleviated. We elucidate on the barriers and suggest in broad strokes the need for strong independent institutions and vibrant civil society amongst others. We also recognize that overreliance on individuals in resolving the conflict is detrimental to the young nation, and there is a need for a citizen-centered approach that entrenches consociational principles in South Sudan’s political sphere. https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/ajps/article/view/1192South SudanSustainable PeaceConsociationalism power-sharing
spellingShingle Israel Nyaburi Nyadera
Michael Otieno Kisaka
Examining the Prospects of Consociational Power-Sharing as a Conflict Resolution Strategy in South Sudan
African Journal of Political Science
South Sudan
Sustainable Peace
Consociationalism power-sharing
title Examining the Prospects of Consociational Power-Sharing as a Conflict Resolution Strategy in South Sudan
title_full Examining the Prospects of Consociational Power-Sharing as a Conflict Resolution Strategy in South Sudan
title_fullStr Examining the Prospects of Consociational Power-Sharing as a Conflict Resolution Strategy in South Sudan
title_full_unstemmed Examining the Prospects of Consociational Power-Sharing as a Conflict Resolution Strategy in South Sudan
title_short Examining the Prospects of Consociational Power-Sharing as a Conflict Resolution Strategy in South Sudan
title_sort examining the prospects of consociational power sharing as a conflict resolution strategy in south sudan
topic South Sudan
Sustainable Peace
Consociationalism power-sharing
url https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/ajps/article/view/1192
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