Synopses & Reviews
In 2011, after a lengthy struggle, South Sudan became the worlds youngest independent nation. The area and its people had endured a brutal colonial conquest followed by a century of deliberate government neglect and racial oppression. Sudans war of liberationalthough victoriousresulted in many negative economic consequences, especially in rural areas dependent upon humanitarian aid. The violent aftermath of independence has resulted in looting, raids, and massacres in some regions.
South Sudan: A Slow Liberation examines these problems and provides a revealing, multi-layered description of the current state of the country. Looking specifically at the Jonglei state, South Sudans most mutinous hinterland, Edward Thomas explains how it came to be at the heart of the journey toward state power and liberation and has exemplified South Sudans history as a rebel threat to the Sudanese government. Drawing on hundreds of interviews, South Sudan gives a sharply focused, fresh account of the countrys continuing struggle.
Review
"From the excellent Introduction to his thoughtful Epilogue, Robert Collins has given us a valuable farewell present with an admirable summary of his outstanding historical research over 50 years; every student of, and policymaker on, Sudan will benefit from reading it and pondering its overarching themes." - Peter Bechtold, President of the American Sudan Institute, Middle East Journal
Review
"This informative text is indispensable for African studies collections.... Essential." - Choice
Review
"In Collins' view, the main issue in human affairs is identity, and Sudanese modern history is about contrasting concepts of self-identification. However, in analyzing this pivotal theme, Collins integrates other vital aspects: economic developments, social changes, cultural trends, sectarian interests, personal ambitions, global factors, and the involvement of neighbors. All these dimensions are woven into an excellent composition that will remain essential for students of Sudan." - Haggai Erlich, Tel Aviv University and the Open University of Israil, International Journal of Middle East Studies
Synopsis
Sudan's modern history has been consumed by revolution and civil war. The country attracted international attention in the 1990s as a breeding ground of Islamist terrorism and recently tensions between the prosperous centre and the periphery, between north and south, have exploded in Darfur. In his latest book, Robert Collins, a frequent visitor and veteran scholar of the region, traces Sudan's history across two hundred years to show how many of the tragedies of today have been planted in its past. The story begins with the conquest of Muhammad 'Ali in 1821, and moves through the Anglo-Egyptian condominium to independence in 1956. It then focuses on Sudanese rule in the post-independence years when the fragile democracy established by the British collapsed under sectarian strife. It is these religious and ethnic divides, the author contends, in conjunction with failed leadership, which have prolonged and sustained the conflict in Sudan.
Synopsis
Chronological account of Sudan's history from 1821 to the present, showing how ethnic divisions and failed leadership have sustained conflicts.
Synopsis
Robert Collins traces Sudan's history across two hundred years to show how recent tragic events are rooted in the past. He argues that the country's religious and ethnic divides, in conjunction with failed leadership, have prolonged and sustained the conflict in Sudan.
Synopsis
In 2011, South Sudan became an independent country. Its long liberation struggle was an attempt to right the wrongs of history: a brutal colonial conquest that was followed by more than a century of deliberate neglect and racial oppression organized by governments headquartered at Khartoum. The long struggle has had a violent aftermath. The war of liberation chaotically reconfigured the economy of South Sudan's pastoralist hinterlands around looting, markets and humanitarian aid. In some of the hinterlands, South Sudan's independence was marked with raids and massacres that pitted ethnic communities against each other.
This book gives a revealingly multi-layered description of what is happening in South Sudan today. Writing from the perspective of South Sudan's most mutinous hinterland, Jonglei state, it explains how an area so remote from the power and wealth of the national capital was at the heart of South Sudan's painful, slow history of state power and liberation. Jonglei's experience - at once central and peripheral - exemplifies South Sudan's own history as a rebel province that could bring down Sudanese governments. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and a broad, deep literature review, this book gives a sharply focused, new account of the country's long unfinished struggle for liberation.
About the Author
Robert O. Collins is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His recent publications include Civil Wars and Revolution in the Sudan: Essays on the Sudan, Southern Sudan and Darfur, 1962-2004 (2005), Darfur: The Long Road to Disaster (2006) and A History of Sub-Saharan Africa (with James M. Burns, 2007).
Table of Contents
A note on terminology
Introduction: Gabriel Anyang remembers his childhood
Part One: Society and State
1. The social landscape
2. South Sudan’s encounter with modernity
3. Development and representation
4. Theories of revolution
5. State and society in Jonglei after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
Part Two: Jonglei's Mutinies
6. The life and death of Hassan Ngachingol
7. The civil wars in Jonglei
8. The geography of conflict in Jonglei after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
Part Three: Social Transformation
9. Raiding and eating
10. Nyaburjok
Conclusion: Slow liberation
Bibliography