(Re)appraising the role of civil society in the IGAD-led peace process for South Sudan

Ibrahim Magara; Miranda Rivers

doi:10.17159/ajcr.v24i1.18278

(Re)appraising the role of civil society in the IGAD-led peace process for South Sudan

Ibrahim Magara, Miranda Rivers

Research Centre for Peace and Security

United States Institute of Peace

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Abstract

This article (re)appraises the role of civil society in South Sudan’s peace process. Situated at the confluence of civil society inclusion/exclusion, the significance of civil society participation and its contribution to peace processes, the article contributes to literature on inclusive and sustainable peace. The article employs a qualitative case analysis to illuminate the dynamics of civil society participation in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)-led peace process for South Sudan. The article engages with factors that compromise the efficacy of civic action in South Sudan and issues that are injurious to the sector’s legitimacy. The article neither downplays the complexity and precarity of the environment in which the South Sudanese civil society finds itself nor overplays the importance and contributions of civil society to the peace process. More importantly, it reveals that civil society in South Sudan is severely fragmentated and suggests that this fragmentation needs to be addressed as it simultaneously compromises civil society’s peacemaking efficacy and undermines the sector’s legitimacy. In the end, the article adds to the view that civil society is not always a force for peace and the sector’s inclusion; participation does not necessarily contribute to legitimising or sustaining peace processes and their outcomes.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	7-28
Number of pages	22
Journal	African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Volume	24
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.17159/ajcr.v24i1.18278
Publication status	Published - 1 Aug 2024

Bibliographical note

The African Journal on Conflict Resolution applies a Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY–NC–ND 4.0) license.

All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Funder

Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), UK under grant number AG 301263

Funding

Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), UK under grant number AG 301263

Funders	Funder number
United States Institute of Peace	95314421P1QA00776

Keywords

peace process
Civil Society
peacemaking
South Sudan
IGAD

Access to Document

10.17159/ajcr.v24i1.18278Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Magara2024VoRFinal published version, 11.5 MBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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abstract = "This article (re)appraises the role of civil society in South Sudan{\textquoteright}s peace process. Situated at the confluence of civil society inclusion/exclusion, the significance of civil society participation and its contribution to peace processes, the article contributes to literature on inclusive and sustainable peace. The article employs a qualitative case analysis to illuminate the dynamics of civil society participation in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)-led peace process for South Sudan. The article engages with factors that compromise the efficacy of civic action in South Sudan and issues that are injurious to the sector{\textquoteright}s legitimacy. The article neither downplays the complexity and precarity of the environment in which the South Sudanese civil society finds itself nor overplays the importance and contributions of civil society to the peace process. More importantly, it reveals that civil society in South Sudan is severely fragmentated and suggests that this fragmentation needs to be addressed as it simultaneously compromises civil society{\textquoteright}s peacemaking efficacy and undermines the sector{\textquoteright}s legitimacy. In the end, the article adds to the view that civil society is not always a force for peace and the sector{\textquoteright}s inclusion; participation does not necessarily contribute to legitimising or sustaining peace processes and their outcomes.",

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(Re)appraising the role of civil society in the IGAD-led peace process for South Sudan

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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Funding

Keywords

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