Breaking Sudan

Book excerpt: In 2005, twenty-two years of civil war in Sudan were brought to an end by the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Negotiations between north and south had ended in compromise, however, and hopes of a unified state that was open, democratic and secular, had fallen to secession. Following South Sudan's declaration of independence in 2011, political tensions have led to conflict in both countries and now there is even the growing threat of a war between them. The situation is,arguably, worse than it ever has been before. Sudan expert Jok Madut Jok investigates how violence has once more come to dominate a region where various political groups remain separated by deep-rooted mistrust and ethnic relations are nothing short of wrecked. Dissecting the failure of the peace agreement, he confronts the frightening possibility that it may have actually, in effect, legitimized the use of violence for the achievement of political goals. More than just a scrupulous survey of two countries ravaged by war,Breaking Sudan features starkly drawn portraits that provide a moving insight into how the Sudanese of the post-secession era continue to live with war.