The Politics of Resources, Resistance and Peripheries in Sudan

The document examines the historical and contemporary drivers of conflict in Sudan, arguing that the centralisation of power in Khartoum and the economic neglect of peripheral regions created a pattern of resistance. It distinguishes between the 'high politics' of oil, which fueled the second civil war and secessionist movements, and the 'low politics' of subsistence resources, such as land and water, which continue to drive local-level violence between pastoralists and farmers. The author concludes that the stability of both Northern and Southern Sudan depends on their ability to move away from elite-driven power concentration and establish inclusive governance and resource-sharing frameworks.

• Sudan's internal conflicts are rooted in the centralisation of political and economic power in Khartoum, which led to the systemic marginalisation and underdevelopment of peripheral regions.
• The first Sudanese civil war (1955–1972) was precipitated by the British colonial decision to merge the north and south into a single independent state despite having administered them as separate entities with distinct socio-cultural and religious orientations.
• The discovery of oil in the late 1970s transformed the nature of the conflict from a struggle for recognition and rights into a 'resource war' for control over oil fields, contributing to the outbreak of the second civil war.
• Beyond oil, 'low politics' involving subsistence resources—specifically land, water, and grazing—drive persistent local-level violence, often exacerbated by environmental degradation and climate change.
• Land disputes in Southern Sudan are driven by the legacy of forced displacement during the civil wars, with conflicts occurring between returning displaced persons, current residents, and SPLA soldiers who claim land as 'liberators'.
• Tensions between nomadic pastoralists (such as the Baggara and Misseriya) and settled agriculturalists are a recurring source of instability, often manipulated by the central government for military strategy.
• The Abyei region remains a critical flashpoint due to disputed borders and disagreements over whether nomadic Misseriya tribes should be eligible to vote in referendums.
• Southern Sudan's economic viability is precarious due to its total reliance on oil exports (98% of total revenue) and a lack of basic infrastructure, with 90% of the population living on less than a dollar a day.
• The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) provided a framework for decentralisation and fiscal reform, but it deferred the complex issue of land ownership to the post-agreement phase, leaving it unresolved.

APA

de Kock, P. (2011). The Politics of Resources, Resistance and Peripheries in Sudan. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Occasional-Paper-86.pdf

Chicago

de Kock, Petrus. The Politics of Resources, Resistance and Peripheries in Sudan. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2011. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Occasional-Paper-86.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=de Kock |first1=Petrus |title=The Politics of Resources, Resistance and Peripheries in Sudan |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=June 2011 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Occasional-Paper-86.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dekock2011politics, author = {de Kock, Petrus}, title = {{The Politics of Resources, Resistance and Peripheries in Sudan}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2011}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Occasional-Paper-86.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }