Root Causes Of Sudans Civil Wars

Sudan's post-independence history has been dominated by long, recurring, and bloody civil wars. Most commentators have attributed the country's political and civil strife either to an age-old racial and ethnic divide between Arabs and Africans or to colonially constructed inequalities. In The Root Causes of Sudan's Civil Wars, Douglas H. Johnson examines historical, political, economic, and social factors to come to a more subtle understanding of the trajectory of Sudan's civil wars. Johnson focuses on the essential differences between the modern Sudan's first civil war in the 1960s, the current war, and the minor conflicts generated by and contained within the larger wars. Regional and international factors, such as humanitarian aid, oil revenue, and terrorist organizations, are cited and examined as underlying issues that have exacerbated the violence. Readers will find an immensely readable yet nuanced and well-informed handling of the history and politics of Sudan's civil wars.

"Johnson's analysis of the conflicts in Sudan is clear and incisive. By updating the book to include southern Sudan's independence, Johnson has given us a very important and useful survey history of Sudan." --African Studies Quarterly Indiana University Press Indiana University Press Indiana University Press

"" -- Indiana University Press

Douglas H. Johnson teaches history at St. Antony's College, Oxford University. He has worked with various relief agencies and relief efforts in the Sudan.

Preliminary Table of Contents:

Introduction

1. The Historical Structure of North-South Relations

2. British Overrule, 1899-1947

3. Nationalism, Independence and the First Civil War, 1942-1972

4. The Addis Ababa Agreement and the Regional Governments, 1972-1983

5. The Beginning of the Second Civil War, 1983-1985

Interlude

6. The Momentum of Liberation, 1986, 1991

7. The SPLA Split: Surviving Factionalism

8. The Segmentation of SPLA-United and the Nuer Civil War

9. Multiple Civil Wars

10. The War Economy and the Politics of Relief

11. Ideas of Peace and War in the Sudan

Appendix: Chronology of Events in the War

Bibliographic Essay