Contested Constitutions - Constitutional development in Sudan 1953-2005

This report explores constitutional development in Sudan from 1956 until  2005. It presents the country´s constitutional history, with a special emphasis on the writing and implementation of the constitutions from 1956, 1973, 1998 and 2005. The author discusses contested topics found in the constitutional discourse, as well as the purpose of constitutions in Sudan. Despite the substantial literature on Sudanese politics and development, the dynamics of constitution-making remains understudied, probably as scholars for years dismiss ed constitutionsin authoritarian regimes, arguing that they lack any political reality. The author argues however, that constitutions in Sudan matter due to the political and economical resources invested in them, and that this has been an important political process in order to secure peace, and as a tool for legitimising new regimes. Furthermore, constitution-making in Sudan has been closely linked to nation-building, operating as a instrument for constructing a national identity and thus, trying to come to terms with the country´s diversities.