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ABSTRACT: Apart from national contestations, there has been some form of third-party involvement in the conflict and peace process in Sudan. Actors in the immediate region and inter-nationally played the role of mediators in the peace efforts in Sudan. The international community played a role in negoti-ating the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan and other agreements. The Sudan government and armed groups are key actors in conflict and peace but there was hardly any negotiated peace that was reached without the involvement of regional and international actors. IGAD, the AU, and the UN were among key actors in the Juba Peace Agreement. Through the analysis of existing material, this contribution looks critically at the roles played by different actors in the process and how regional and international actors brought the interlocutors around the table. A key argument in the article is that mediators succeed in hav-ing parties sign agreements but play no significant role beyond that.
KEYWORDS: Darfur, armed movements, rebels, security, conflict
INTRODUCTION: SUDAN CONFLICTS IN THE NATIONAL, REGIONAL, AND INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT
For most of its postcolonial history, Sudan was in a state of conflict. The country's postcolonial history is one of durable disorder (Sørbø and Ahmed 2013). The peak of this disorder was the secession of South Sudan in July 2011 and the continuity of war in Darfur. Long before the secession of South Sudan, the country went through continuous and protracted violent conflicts, civil wars, unstable political regimes, and an alternation of military coups and short-lived multiparty democracies. Between 1956 and 2019, Sudan had three short democratic govern-ments (1956-58, 1964-69, and 1986-89) and long military dictator-ships (1958-64, 1969-85, and 1989-2019). The ascendance of the National Islamic Front to power in June 1989 through a military coup was another chapter in the country's long and protracted instability. The Islamists' divisive policies and genocidal wars further entrenched Sudan's problems and led to the secession of South Sudan. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in 2005 was seen as a chance for the country to rectify its tumultuous past, but alas, the country was split in two parts and South Sudan celebrated its independence before the terms of divorce were agreed on.
A basic question for Sudan is, what are the factors behind Sudan's...