Call for Papers
UNISCI Discussion Papers: Special Issue on Sudan and South Sudan
UNISCI Discussion Papers invites the submission of original research articles for its special issue on Sudan and South Sudan. The current crises in these two countries highlight the need for discussion and reflection on the key issues surrounding South Sudan’s secession from the North. For further details including submission guidelines, please see the information below.
The history of Sudan, formerly the biggest African country and often considered “a microcosm of Africa”, has been characterized by inequality between the center and the peripheries and by protracted internal conflicts which have shaped the country since its independence from British and Egyptian rule in 1956.
After the independence of South Sudan on 9 July 2011 as the consequence of an overwhelming Southern vote for secession in the referendum held in January 2011, the partition has not provided a solution to the North-South conflict, which was ended with the signature of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005.
Yet a new crisis has erupted in the border areas, leading to a new war in Sudan’s new South, both in Southern Kordofan/Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile States. The underlying causes of the new conflict are rooted in several key factors related to the outstanding CPA commitments and post-secession arrangements, including border demarcation, the issue of oil revenue sharing, citizenship and the status of Abyei.
While a cooperation agreement was signed in Addis Ababa in September 2012, agreeing to implement several agreements concerning oil and related economic matters, the status of nationals of the other state, border demarcation, and security arrangements, the implementation of these commitments as of today remains incomplete. The last summit meeting between the Presidents of Sudan and South Sudan held in Addis Ababa in January 2013 sought to push forward the key issue of the status of Abyei and the implementation of existing agreements, but the uncertainty and the ongoing tensions between North and South Sudan persist.
Although South Sudan has attained independence, the root causes of the North-South conflict continue to be present. As for Sudan’s other peripheries tensions are increasing, within the states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile while the Darfur conflict continues unabated, reflecting a constant pattern of exclusion that has historically manifested in social inequality and political asymmetries. There has also been serious inter-communal violence and renewed conflicts in several states of South Sudan, which reflects the complex context and challenges to state-building in the new state.
These current crises in the two countries highlight the need for discussion and reflection on the key issues surrounding South Sudan’s secession from the North. This special issue of UNISCI Discussion Papers seeks to approach these emerging crises between and within theSudans both as regards the understanding of Sudanese and South Sudanese’ internal dynamics and how these relate to the external influence of the major powers.
This is an indicative and not exhaustive list of topics, open to other suggestions and proposals:
- The whole set of outstanding post-secession issues which had remained unresolved during the CPA interim period: border demarcation and the five disputed areas, Nile waters, citizenship (the situation of southerners in the north and northerners in the south), the issue of oil revenue sharing and its economic consequences, the status of Abyei and the political situation in the Three Areas (Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan states and Abyei).
- Wars in Sudan’s new South, including cross-border violence between Sudan and South Sudan, war by proxy in South Kordofan and Blue Nile States, and theDarfurconflict; causes, negotiations, regional implications, humanitarian intervention.
- Inter-communal violence in South Sudan and its political and governance context. Conflicts inside the state of South Sudan and the understanding of violence. The historical and political context from which South Sudan’s statehood has emerged.
- Social, economic, political and cultural root causes of the crises; unresolved political and social issues.
- The effects of secession on Sudan and South Sudan’s external relations. The relations with the neighbouring countries. The external power influences on the twoSudans’ politics. The role of regional and international organizations.
DEADLINES
- Abstracts (maximum 500 words) accompanied by a short biographical note should be sent to the special issue editor written below before 8th March 2013.
- On the 5th April 2013, the authors will be notified of the outcome of the selection process.
- The deadline for submission of completed articles is 20th July 2013 (see the instructions for authors).
- After the peer review conducted by UNISCI, accepted articles will be published in the issue No. 33 (October 2013).
*NB: Contributions will be accepted in both English and Spanish.
Contact: María Ángeles Alaminos Hervás, Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), editor of this special issue.
UNISCI Discussion Papers (ISSN: 1696-2206) is the scientific, peer-reviewed journal officially published by the Research Unit on International Security and Cooperation (UNISCI), founded in 1989 as one of Complutense University of Madrid’s research groups. UNISCI members include more than twenty Professors and Research Fellows specialized in the field of International Security.
UNISCI Discussion Papers is a refereed and open access journal with 3 issues per year (January, May and October). All the articles can be consulted and downloaded –free of charge– from the following website www.ucm.es/info/unisci. The thematic scope is that of International Relations and International Security, both understood in a broad sense and from a multidimensional approach, open to different theoretical perspectives.