The Politics of Resources, Resistance and Peripheries in Sudan

This research paper by Petrus de Kock for the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) examines the historical and contemporary drivers of conflict in Sudan, focusing on the relationship between the central state in Khartoum and its marginalised peripheries. Written in June 2011, the document analyzes how the struggle for both high-level resources (oil) and low-level subsistence resources (land and water) has shaped the country's political landscape, leading to two civil wars and the eventual independence of Southern Sudan in July 2011.

• The root cause of Sudan's political crises is the state's inability to include marginalised peripheries in decision-making processes and the centralisation of power and resources by northern elites.
• Sudan's history of conflict is not limited to the north-south divide or oil politics; it includes multiple interlocking conflicts in the east and west, such as the Darfur rebellion and the Eastern Front insurgency.
• Colonial administration by the British entrenched divisions by managing the north and south as separate entities, with the south designated as 'closed districts' to prevent Arabisation and Islamisation.
• 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, precipitating the second civil war.
• The independence of Southern Sudan creates a critical economic interdependence: the south holds approximately 75-80% of oil reserves, but the north controls the only pipeline to Port Sudan.
• Local-level 'low politics' of subsistence resources, particularly land and water, are primary triggers of violence and instability in Southern Sudan.
• Conflict between nomadic pastoralists and settled agriculturalists is a recurring problem, often exacerbated by environmental degradation and the strategic manipulation of these groups by the state during the civil war.
• The Abyei region remains a flashpoint of conflict due to disputes over the north-south border and the eligibility of the nomadic Misseriya tribe to vote in the referendum.
• Southern Sudan faces severe structural challenges upon independence, including a lack of infrastructure, extreme poverty, and a high dependency on oil revenues.
• The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) deferred the critical issue of land ownership to the post-agreement phase, creating a significant unresolved challenge for future governance.

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} }