The militarization of cattle raiding in South Sudan: how a traditional practice became a tool for political violence

Abstract

Cattle raiding, a longstanding practice among pastoralists in South Sudan, was historically governed by cultural authorities and ritual prohibitions. However, after decades of on-and-off integration into armed forces, raiders are now heavily armed, and military-style attacks claim dozens if not hundreds of lives at a time. Beginning with the emergence of the infamous Lou Nuer "White Army" in the Bor Massacre of the early 1990s, in which Riek Machar mobilized local herders to mount a devastating attack against the heartland of Sudan People's Liberation Army Leader John Garang, political leaders have strategically manipulated these local conflicts in order to mobilize armed herders for their political movements. Political leaders' systematic exploitation of customary raiding practices gravely inflames the current conflict, but the role of intercommunity violence has not been part of the mainstream dialogue around political solutions. Moreover, as allegiances between pastoralist militias and political factions decay, the proliferation of informal armed groups whose motivations are often distinct from the agenda of the state or opposition forces on whose behalf they once fought poses increasing challenges to peacebuilding efforts. Neglecting local realities poses serious implications for the prospects of peace. In this article, we synthesize perspectives from anthropology, regional history, and conflict studies to offer an analysis of the interplay between local conflict and state violence in South Sudan. We highlight opportunities for conflict de-escalation, concluding with policy recommendations focused on justice and enforcement in the rural areas of South Sudan.

Newly evolving pastoral and post-pastoral rangelands of Eastern Africa

“…The drivers of changing rangeland livelihoods in northern Bahr el Ghazal are political rather than environmental. Prolonged conflict has militarised livelihoods, with young men increasingly mobilised to defend the political interests of ruling (and warring) elites rather than protect life and property in their communities, including livestock (Wild et al 2018 ). The proliferation of small arms has distorted customary institutions, with the power of traditional authorities increasingly weakened by the emergence of new armed powers (Kuol 2017 ).…”

State Fragility and Post-Conflict State-Building: An Analysis of South Sudan Conflict (2013-2019)

“…The group has been accused of having orchestrated the Bor Massacre with the support of Khartoum in southern Sudan. Machar who had ideological differences with John Garang', mobilized over 20,000 members of the SPLM-Nasir to attack Dinkas killing 2000 of them in process (Wild et al, 2018). Despite offering a public apology in 2011, Machar's quest to ascend to presidency continues to face challenges as this massacre has been used as a tool against his political ambitions (Chol, 2011: 3).…”

Buffering State-making: Geopolitics in the Sudd Marshlands of South Sudan

“…Indeed, government and opposition have managed to subvert donor efforts to create a professional security sector, instead distributing cash and opportunities to decentralized bands and militias through a dynamic political economy of patronage, predation and promises (Craze 2020, cf. Wild, Jok, andPatel 2018). The "resulting centralization and fragmentation", as Joshua Craze puts it, "are thus not opposed processes, but are rather complementary and dialectically related" (2020, 7).…”