Abstract
Conflicts in Africa are increasingly becoming violent and endemic. Many of these conflicts are related to crises of identities, struggles for resources and power contestations. A few of these conflicts escalate to self-determination, separatist movements, and secession. These conflicts mostly transcend national borders and trigger the alteration and redesigning of national borders, which itself becomes a source of continued violent conflicts across borders. For instance, the attainment of independence by South-Sudan in 2013 has raised hope in achieving peace and stability after one of the prolonged civil wars in Africa. Nevertheless, the new state of South Sudan has turned to a devil’s domain. The internal conflicts in South Sudan have further aggravated the tensions in the region; in addition to the border disputes with Sudan. After the three years of political independence from Sudan, there is still no agreement over the 2,010-km border that divides the two nations. This paper thus examines the nature of border disputes between Sudan and South Sudan and the extent to which the border conflict influences the dynamics of internal conflicts in South Sudan and the implications for peace and stability in the region. Key words: Independence, border, conflict, violence.
Highlights
Separation took place while a host of major problems remained unresolved (Ottaway and El-Sadany, 2010: 3)
The referendum that approved the secession of the South Sudan did not address several important territorial issues: unclear and un-demarcated border tracts; the question of whether Abyei should stay within the north or become a part of the Sudan; and the status of South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, regions that were clearly recognized as part of the north, but expected to be given some form of special status under the provisions of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) because of their ties to the south
Africa‟s interstate boundaries have remained the major source of conflict and instability in the continent, largely because of the history of their formation and struggle to control natural resources along the borderlines
Summary
Secession and border disputes in Africa: The case of Sudan and South Sudan border. Conflicts in Africa are increasingly becoming violent and endemic. A few of these conflicts escalate to self-determination, separatist movements, and secession. These conflicts mostly transcend national borders and trigger the alteration and redesigning of national borders, which itself becomes a source of continued violent conflicts across borders. The internal conflicts in South Sudan have further aggravated the tensions in the region; in addition to the border disputes with Sudan. This paper examines the nature of border disputes between Sudan and South Sudan and the extent to which the border conflict influences the dynamics of internal conflicts in South Sudan and the implications for peace and stability in the region
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