Sudan–South Sudan Relations : From Colonial Period to Present Times

Abstract

This paper deals with Sudan-South Sudan relations since 1955. The British colonial system administered two practical political entities (north and south Sudan) separately under one governor general. Paradoxically, it unsuccessfully tried to unite them as one entity by granting independence to former Sudan as a whole. Hence, the contradictions inherited from the colonial legacy continued to be practiced by the post-independence leaderships of Sudan. They continued to forcefully unite the south with the north. But at last South Sudan achieved independence and established relations with Sudan. This paper attempts to answer whether the relations of the two countries led to conflict or cooperation or both in the post-1955 and post-9July 2011 period. Most scholars argue that the dominant and rigid Arab elite in the north failed to accommodate the interests of the black Sudanese in the south. This contributed to the state of affairs to date in the relations of the two countries. Hence, this paper largely focuses how the rigid stand of the northern elite eroded the prospects of cooperative relations and agreements of the two states that led to frequent conflicts which in turn led to the division of former Sudan into two. It also examines the type of relations between the two countries after 9 July 2011.