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.
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.
Synopsis
In 2011, South Sudan became independent following a long war of liberation, that gradually became marked by looting, raids and massacres pitting ethnic communities against each other. In this remarkably comprehensive work, Edward Thomas provides a multi-layered examination of what is happening in the country today. Writing from the perspective of South Sudan's most mutinous hinterland, Jonglei state, the book explains how this area was at the heart of South Sudan's struggle.
Drawing on hundreds of interviews and a broad range of sources, this book gives a sharply focused, fresh account of South Sudan's long, unfinished fight for liberation.
About the Author
Edward Thomas has lived and worked in Sudan and South Sudan for over eight years. He has worked as a teacher, researcher, and human rights worker for Sudanese and international organizations.
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