This definitive political history from an ambassador of the Republic of Sudan unravels the background that led to the fracturing of a country. Author and ambassador Dr. Khidir Haroun Ahmed takes us on a journey as he traces the historical and internal/external factors that led to the division of Sudan and altered the political map of Africa. Spanning the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, The Making and Breaking of the United Sudan explores colonial rule, unstable national governments, and disruptive foreign intervention, which led to Sudan's civil war and changed the geography of Sudan. Ahmed's chronicle also focuses on understanding Sudan politics and explains the eventual establishment of two separate national governments in the region. This fascinating account of the formation and dissolution of a United Sudan offers an honest assessment of change and consequences. It provides a look at what worked and what failed and exposes the detrimental policies motivated by political agendas rather than the good of the people.

Authored by scholars, practitioners and scholar-practitioners, this volume marshals a kaleidoscope of perspectives on peace and peacemaking.

After decades of civil war, the people of southern Sudan voted to secede from the north in an attempt to escape the seemingly endless violence. On declaring independence, South Sudan was one of the least developed places on earth, but with the ability to draw upon significant oil reserves worth $150 million a month, the foundation for a successful future was firmly in place. How, then, did the state of the new nation deteriorate even further, to the point that a new civil war broke out two years later? Today, with both Sudans still hostage to the aspirations of their military and political leaders, how can their people escape the violence that has dominated the two countries’ recent history? By giving voice to those who, after the break-up of Sudan, have had to find ways to live, trade and communicate with one another, Jok Madut Jok provides a moving insight into a crisis that has only rarely made it into our headlines. Breaking Sudan is a meticulous account, analyzing why violence became so deeply entrenched in Sudanese society and exploring what can be done to find peace in two countries ravaged by war.

For thirty years Sudan has been a country in crisis, wracked by near-constant warfare between the north and the south. But on July 9, 2011, South Sudan became an independent nation. As Sudan once again finds itself the focus of international attention, former special envoy to Sudan and director of USAID Andrew Natsios provides a timely introduction to the country at this pivotal moment in its history. Focusing on the events of the last 25 years, Sudan, South Sudan, and Darfur: What Everyone Needs to Know® sheds light on the origins of the conflict between northern and southern Sudan and the complicated politics of this volatile nation. Natsios gives readers a first-hand view of Sudan's past as well as an honest appraisal of its future. In the wake of South Sudan's independence, Natsios explores the tensions that remain on both sides. Issues of citizenship, security, oil management, and wealth-sharing all remain unresolved. Human rights issues, particularly surrounding the ongoing violence in Darfur, likewise still clamor for solutions. Informative and accessible, this book introduces readers to the most central issues facing Sudan as it stands on the brink of historic change. What Everyone Needs to Know® is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005 ended over two decades of civil war and led to South Sudan's independence. Peacemaking that brought about the agreement and then sought to sustain it involved, alongside the Sudanese, an array of regional and western states as well as international organisations. This was a landmark effort to create and sustain peace in a war-torn region. Yet in the years that followed, multiple conflicts continued or reignited, both in Sudan and in South Sudan. Peacemaking attempts multiplied. Authored by both practitioners and scholars, this volume grapples with the question of which, and whose, ideas of peace and of peacemaking were pursued in the Sudans and how they fared. Bringing together economic, legal, anthropological and0political science perspectives on over a decade of peacemaking attempts in the two countries, it provides insights for peacemaking efforts to come, in the Sudans and elsewhere.

Introduction to the Second Edition and Chapter Eight copyright A2016 Richard Cockett.

The untold story of America's attempt to forge a nation from scratch, from euphoric birth to heart-wrenching collapse. South Sudan's independence was celebrated around the world—a triumph for global justice and an end to one of the world's most devastating wars. But the party would not last long: South Sudan's freedom fighters soon plunged their new nation into chaos, shattering the promise of liberation and exposing the hubris of their foreign backers. Chronicling extraordinary stories of hope, identity, and survival, A Rope from the Sky journeys inside an epic tale of paradise won and then lost. This character-driven narrative is first a story of power, promise, greed, compassion, violence, and redemption from the world's most neglected patch of territory. But it is also a story about the best and worst of America—both its big-hearted ideals and its difficult reckoning with the limits of American power amid a changing global landscape. Zach's Vertin's firsthand acounts, from deadly war zones to the halls of Washington power, brings readers inside this remarkable episode—an unprecedented experiment in state-building and a cautionary tale. It is brilliant and breathtaking, a moder-day Greek tragedy that will challenge our perspectives on global politics.