Sudan - Micro-Macro Issues in Peacebuilding

The comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) between the Government of Sudan (GOS) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) represents a major opportunity for positive change and sustainable peace in Sudan. But the potential for harm is also great. Outbreaks of war and violence have followed the failure of peace agreements in several African countries, with high death tolls and great destruction.

This research project focuses on

• (a) the political economy of the transition from war to peace, including institutional and governance issues as envisaged by the CPA; and

• (b) the role of third party engagement and issues related to the management and coordination of aid.

The political economy of the transition

A characteristic feature of the situation in Sudan is that there are multiple conflicts in the country, some of them localized or of a regional nature. They have their own dynamics, yet they are interrelated in complex ways. Successful peace implementation in Sudan will depend on the ability of the government and international actors to identify and address root causes of the different conflicts. The developmental prospects of the entire country will depend on what coalition of interest groups succeeds in dominating the peace and the extent to which this coalition supports progressive social and economic development. The reality of peacebuilding in Sudan, as elsewhere, lies in power and politics.

There is a particular need to monitor the implementation of the CPA. The agreement on wealth-sharing (that includes oil) is important. The parties to the CPA have also committed themselves to democratization and devolution of powers. In Sudan, a great challenge will be to construct new political and state structures that are less conflictual, less centralized and more accommodating of local autonomy and social values. The constitutional review process will hopefully be a step in the right direction whereas hasty democratization (including elections) based on insufficient knowledge by external actors may precipitate a new crisis, just as formal democratization in Sudan has often coincided with the intensification of civil war. Also, the establishment of a decentralised structure that will provide more autonomy, resources and competencies to the state levels will represent a particular challenge, both politically and in terms of organisational and human resources requirements.

The project combines macro level studies with resea rch in selected localities and states. Since the Three Areas are expected to play key roles during the interim period, we put a special emphasis on the Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan (Nuba). This focus on peripheral regions is expected to provide us with important insights into how the implementation of the CPA affects the average citizen. By looking at regional dynamics, we will have a vantage point to the understanding of the reconfiguration of the Sudanese state in the post-war era.

International engagement; aid management and ownership

Appropriate aid can help to build peace, whereas inappropriate aid can fuel war by deepening the social fault lines of conflict and tilting power balances in favour of those inclined to resolve conflicts by violent means. Aid may also erode local capacity rather than enhance it.

In Sudan, the UNMIS is expected to play a key role in peace implementation. The model for Sudan has been referred to as being at the "cutting edge", but there are questions regarding the possible limitations of a unified mission approach under the current UN system structure. International actors will face the challenge of coordinating t heir aid efforts and their approaches to implement peace in Sudan. Coordination is complicated by the multitude of actors involved on the donor side, including NGOs. Not only coordination of external actors is required, however. There is increasing recognition of the principle that the host government must be assisted to take on major coordination responsibilities. This includes inter-ministerial coordination.

There are at least two main challenges to aid management in Sudan:

• (1) The aid management system must be able to clearly organize the coexistence of humanitarian, recovery and developmental activities, the latter including peacebuilding and conflict prevention.

• (2) Sudan must break the "low ownership trap" through capacity and competence building. There must be a progressive transfer of ownership (technical and political) in the management of aid.

This website aims to provide information on the situation in Sudan and to present academic work and reprots on a range of issues related both to Sudan and to peacebuilding in general, as well as links to other resources. We invite contributions, information and reports from experts and practitioners in relevant fields. These can be sent to hilde.kjostvedt@cmi.no