Sudan’s Political Crisis and the Uncharted Course

The report examines Sudan's history of military coups, focusing on the 30-year authoritarian rule of Omar al-Bashir and the subsequent 2019 transition attempt. It details the power-sharing agreement between the Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), and the subsequent October 2021 coup by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. The author argues that the coup weakened the civilian government and strengthened the military's influence, leaving the path to democracy uncertain and potentially destabilizing the Horn of Africa.

• Sudan has a long history of political instability, having experienced 15 coups d'état since gaining independence in 1956, leading some to describe the country as "a laboratory for students of coups".
• The 30-year reign of General Omar al-Bashir (1989-2019) was characterized by the suppression of civil liberties, the secession of South Sudan, the Darfur Crisis, and severe economic decline caused by Western sanctions and the loss of oil revenue.
• A three-year power-sharing agreement signed on July 17, 2019, between the Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) established a Sovereign Council and a Cabinet to manage the transition to civilian rule.
• The transition process was undermined by military subversion, including the delayed establishment of the Transitional Legislative Council and an assassination attempt on Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on March 9, 2020.
• On October 25, 2021, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan led a military coup that dissolved the civilian government, arrested political leaders, and placed Prime Minister Hamdok under house arrest.
• Although Prime Minister Hamdok was reinstated in November 2021, the new arrangement is viewed as weaker for civilians because it lacks a specific date for the transfer of power and excludes an explicit role for the FFC.

APA

Terefe, F., & Mohammed, Z. (n.d.). Sudan’s Political Crisis and the Uncharted Course. Good Governance Africa. https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2022/01/Sudans-Political-Crisis-and-the-Uncharted-Future-Final.pdf

Chicago

Terefe, Fekade, and Zerihun Mohammed. Sudan’s Political Crisis and the Uncharted Course. Good Governance Africa, n.d. https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2022/01/Sudans-Political-Crisis-and-the-Uncharted-Future-Final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Terefe |first1=Fekade |last2=Mohammed |first2=Zerihun |title=Sudan’s Political Crisis and the Uncharted Course |publisher=Good Governance Africa |url=https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2022/01/Sudans-Political-Crisis-and-the-Uncharted-Future-Final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{terefendsudans, author = {Terefe, Fekade and Mohammed, Zerihun}, title = {{Sudan’s Political Crisis and the Uncharted Course}}, institution = {Good Governance Africa}, url = {https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2022/01/Sudans-Political-Crisis-and-the-Uncharted-Future-Final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }