Better ways to build peace and resilience in South Sudan

This report synthesises findings from the Network for Innovative Resilience-Building in South Sudan to identify more effective approaches to peacebuilding and resilience. It argues that durable peace requires a shift from short-term 'quick-fix' activities to long-term, locally-led processes that integrate livelihood support and address the gendered dimensions of food insecurity.

• South Sudan has faced cyclical violence for decades, and recent delays in implementing the revitalised peace agreement (R-ARCSS) have led to an increase in inter-communal and sub-national violence linked to national political actors.
• The humanitarian crisis in South Sudan is severe; as of October 2021, approximately 8.3 million people required humanitarian assistance, including 1.7 million internally displaced persons and 1.4 million malnourished children.
• Effective grassroots peacebuilding in South Sudan depends on the active involvement of local government, people of influence, and traditional leaders.
• Peacebuilding efforts often fail when they focus on 'easy win' or 'quick impact' activities, such as standalone conferences, rather than investing in long-term, iterative peace processes.
• There is a critical need to establish vertical and horizontal linkages between peacebuilding initiatives; without these connections, 'pockets of stability' are difficult to sustain, especially where national actors are parties to local conflicts.
• Resilience-building should not be treated as an end goal in itself but must be integrated with frameworks of equality, justice, and rights to be truly transformative.
• Conflict acts as a distinct shock and stressor that undermines community and household resilience, yet few resilience measurement frameworks explicitly integrate conflict measures.
• Climate change is a significant driver of humanitarian need; in 2021, an estimated 780,000 people were affected by flooding, particularly in Unity, Upper Nile, and Jonglei States.
• There is a significant misalignment between national policy frameworks and the actual priorities of women, particularly regarding the gendered dimensions of food security and hunger in peacebuilding.
• Humanitarian localisation—the leadership of local and national organisations in responses—is not happening in practice due to bureaucratic barriers and a lack of donor funding for local civil society organisations.

APA

Dowd, C., & Kumalo, L. (2022). Better ways to build peace and resilience in South Sudan. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/EAR-45.pdf

Chicago

Dowd, Caitriona, and Liezelle Kumalo. Better ways to build peace and resilience in South Sudan. Institute for Security Studies, 2022. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/EAR-45.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dowd |first1=Caitriona |last2=Kumalo |first2=Liezelle |title=Better ways to build peace and resilience in South Sudan |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=February 2022 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/EAR-45.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dowd2022better, author = {Dowd, Caitriona and Kumalo, Liezelle}, title = {{Better ways to build peace and resilience in South Sudan}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2022}, month = feb, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/EAR-45.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }