Civil War on a Shoestring: Rebellion in South Sudan’s Equatoria Region

Hybrid governance in South Sudan: the negotiated state in practice

“…105 Moreover, over time coercive authorities may change their behaviour as they seek legitimacy. 106 Our case study confirms the middle position taken by Rolandsen 107 and Mac Ginty & Richmond, 108 who state that hybridity can be both beneficial and detrimental to local citizens, depending on the circumstances. Like them, we find that outcomes of hybrid arrangements are context-specific.…”

International Law and Governance by Armed Groups: Caught in the Legitimacy Trap?

“…Moreover, there is evidence that other types of armed group may provide security governance and engage in diplomacy efforts (Kasfir, Frerks, and Terpstra 2017, 259). Examples include Afghan warlords (Malejacq 2017) or fragmented armed groups, such as in the 2016 civil war in South Sudan (Kindersley and Rolandsen 2017) or in Syria. Finally, efforts to enhance claims to legitimacy are relevant for a broader array of violent non-state actors than those captured by the term 'rebel groups'.…”

State building and land conflict in South Sudan

“…In Yei, for example, after the escalation of the conflict in Giru wider violence, the SPLA forces sent from Juba to address the situation ended up siding with the IDPs by assaulting Equatorians on the streets of Yei. As Kindersley and Rolandsen (2017) observe elsewhere, the spread of the civil war that started in December 2013 to various areas in Equatoria seems to have given the Dinka-led government in Juba the chance to displace more populations in rural areas in Equatoria as a way of occupying the land.…”

“…As the war continued, parts of Greater Equatoria also became sucked into the conflict and started to witness local rebellions or attacks by groups allied to the SPLM-In Opposition (SPLM-IO) on government positions and military convoys (de Vries and Justin, 2014). 42 Specifically, the conflict in Equatoria soared after the increase in the number of the states from ten to 28 and subsequently to 32, extending beyond Central Equatoria State to include Western Equatoria States (Kindersley and Rolandsen, 2017). Understanding the history of borders and territories in Central Equatoria can enhance our understanding of the conflict dynamics in this state, hence, the three conflict cases that we will discuss later.…”

“…Moreover, new conflicts erupted in various parts of South Sudan (e.g., Yoshida, 2013). In December 2013, disagreement among elites of the ruling party SPLM escalated into a nationwide civil war (Kindersley and Rolandsen, 2017), which resulted in the displacement of almost 1.7 million civilians, mainly from the three states of Unity, Upper Nile and Jonglei and some parts of Greater Bahr el Ghazal. 93…”