-
Closing Comments by SSA Officers
Abstracts
Data Analyses of Sudan's Reality
"Mapping Socio-Cultural Networks of Sudan from Open-Source, Large-Scale Text Data"
Jana Diesner and Kathleen M. Carley, Carnegie Mellon University
Data on socio-cultural networks enable the analysis of the properties and dynamics of
complex, real-world systems. The collection of network data through surveys is
prohibitively expensive when a large number of individuals needs to be considered, and is
impossible when the system's entities are inaccessible to researchers. In such cases,
extracting network data from text corpora can provide an alternative data collection
method. We have collected a corpus of about 45,000 publically available text documents
about Sudan from a variety of sources, such as news agencies and reports written by
subject-matter experts. We demonstrate a computer-supported methodology for distilling
socio-cultural networks from these data and present our results from performing network
analysis on the resulting data. For example, we show and analyze the network of tribal
connections in various regions of Sudan. The validation of data and results on
inaccessible large-scale networks is difficult to impossible. We report on our approach
for getting the data validated by a renowned subject-matter expert on Sudan and making
respective changes to the network data and extraction method. We also compare the
extracted data to data provided by the subject-matter expert and highlight the main
commonalities and differences. The extraction, management and analysis of the network data
were performed by using freely available software products from the CASOS center at
Carnegie Mellon.
"When Ideologies Meet Reality: Understanding the Nature of Major Political Landscape
Changes Using Computer Based Science Techniques"
Adam Gerard, Rhode Island College
The purpose of this research is to predict the outcomes and effects of the elections in
Sudan. To make this prediction we performed multivariate analysis of the political
campaigns and how they relate to a post election Sudan. The investigative technique
measured popular campaign based on their socio-political affiliations, media exposure, and
access to arms combined with the stated and inferred beliefs of relevant groups. The
results were analyzed and interpreted using computer based dynamic network analysis and
the empirical study of complex socio-technical systems developed by Dr. Kathleen Carley at
Carnegie Mellon for the use of research through the Multi-University Research Initiative
(MURI) Grant funded through the Office of Naval Research for the United States Department
of Defense.
"Network Analysis of Natural Resource Conflict in Sudan"
Jeffrey C. Johnson and Tracy Van Holt, East Carolina University
Many theories of the causes of societal conflicts concern competition over scarce
resources. Natural resources-oil, water, timber, and rain-fed land appear to be among the
sources of conflict in Sudan (UN Report). We use automated text and social network
analysis of Sudan Tribune data to test this proposition by examining the extent to which
1-oil, water, timber, and rain-fed land environmental concepts are reported in the Sudan
Tribune, 2) the concepts are linked to conflict as opposed to other possible
non-environmental causes, and 3) are there other environmental factors (e.g.,
desertification), outside of the resources above, that account for conflicts as reported
in Sudan. Further, we examine a number of factors that may explain the variation of
environmental conflicts (location, time, events, tribal involvement) over the course of
the reported period. Finally, we discuss the utility of this approach for building
associational models of this kind from newspaper and other textual sources.
Ancient Sudan
"Investigating Napatan Identity and State Development at the Third Cataract"
Michele R. Buzon, Purdue University
This project examines the identities of those involved during the critical origin
period of the Napatan state during the Third Intermediate Period and Late Period in Nubia
after the fall of the New Kingdom Egyptian colonial empire. The study of state formation
processes in the Nile Valley has generally centered on the impact that Egypt had on the
developments of indigenous cultures. However, recent studies suggest that, in fact, the
reverse may have taken place – Egypt lost power as a result of the influential
indigenous states in Nubia. Recent excavations at the key site of Tombos, one of the few
sites that spans this transitional period, shed light on this `dark age' of Nubian history
and provide crucial information necessary to clarify the nature of the social processes.
Using a bioarchaeological approach, this project explores the identities of the people
buried at Tombos in order to determine if there is evidence for indigenous activities and
local social forces leading up to the formation of the Napatan state or if outside
migration played a significant role.
"Abu Erteila Excavation Report: A Meroitic temple site."
Richard Lobban, Rhode Island College
This Power Point presentation will summarize the first season of 2009 excavation in a
joint NCAM, Russian, Italian and American project. The historical context, surface finds,
and site plan will be defined along with local ethnography, ecology and landscape. As this
is a non-threatened teaching site some of this role will be discussed along with a
preliminary chronology based on ceramics, and documentary evidence. The presentation will
include a comparative examination of the solar orientation of "typical" and regional
Meroitic "sun temples". A large part of the first season was spent in an extensive survey
by Ground Penetrating Radar that has given us more ideas about the methodology and
approach for the second season in 2010. Hopefully a C-14 date will help to address the
issue of the Axumite invasion as this site of Abu Erteila was heavily ruined as judged by
our initial excavation squares and brick debris.
"Colonial Entanglements: `Egyptianization' in Egypt's Nubian Empire and the Nubian
Dynasty"
Stuart Tyson Smith, University of California, Santa Barbara
The "Egyptianization" of Egypt¹s Nubian colony in the New Kingdom (c. 1500-1070
BC) and of the succeeding Nubian kingdom whose rulers became Egyptian Pharaohs (c. 750-650
BC) is typically viewed as a transfer of culture from a dominant core to a passively
receptive periphery. I argue here that evidence of mixed material culture and practices
represents instead the creation of a cultural hybrid that reflects the complex legacy of
Nubia's colonial encounter with Egypt. Entanglement provides a better model of cultural
interaction that accounts for the agency of both indigenous and intrusive groups in the
context of conquest and colonial occupation and its aftermath.
"Radius of Action in Neolithic and A-Group Nubia"
Bruce Williams
Important techniques and elements of culture have long been traced across wide expanses
of the Sahara, including Sudan. The detailed relations between cutltures of the Middle
Nile, the adjacent deserts, and Egypt have been unclear and often considered doubtful.
Extensive research in all these regions has revealed several sequences of Holocene
cultures without detailed correlations or comparisons with each other. In the last decade
or so, new discoveries in all these regions have produced evidence that certain cultures
had a wider range of influence, or radius of action than assumed before. Saharan rock art
appears close to the Egyptian Nile. Sudanese Neolihtic sites have been found in the
deserts east and west of Egypt. A-Group influence is now traced not only deep into the
Western Desert, but into central Sudan as ell. A-Group sites also have been found in Upper
Egypt, indicating that the culture was more expansive than ever thought before. These
discoveries can be connected to evidence of intensive settlement in Sudanese Neolithic and
high organization in A-Group and Pre-Kerma Nubia to reconstruct a cultural environment
with broad horizons of activity.
Conflict, Justice and Reconciliation
"'A Tree Under Whom I Seek Shelter': Royal Justice, Slavery and the Right of Sanctuary
in Sinnar"
Jay Spaulding, Kean University
Several of the more elaborate Arabic charters from Sinnar contain unusual sets of
phrases. At the beginning of an adjudication each disputing party chooses a spokesperson
to "bear the burden" of their cause. At the end, the leader of the defeated party "seeks
shelter" from a named individual, normally a person otherwise known to have been a locally
prominent holy man.
This study suggests that the rhetoric should be understood in terms of the traditional
system of royal justice in Sinnar, and specifically in the light of the king's claim that
all subjects were his slaves. From a broad historical perspective, the practice offered
the king a technique by which locally prominent troublesome individuals could be forced to
subordinate themselves to equally prominent but less troublesome ones in order to avoid
more severe penalties such as enslavement.
"Transitional Justice and State-Sponsored Violence in Sudan"
Mohamed I. Elgadi, Group Against Torture in Sudan
Is SSA ready to play a role in the implementation of the Transitional Justice (TJ)
approach among Sudanese in Diaspora? TJ is seen by many human rights advocates as the only
road to move forward in Sudan beyond the current authoritative political regime of Inqaz
and toward real democracy. This presentation will highlight the history of systematic
state-organized violence in Sudan over the past 200 years. This is to include samples from
the following five distinct historical periods:
- The Turkiya era (1821-1885)
- The Mahdiya era (1885-1898)
- The Colonial era (1898-1956)
- The Post-Independence era (1956-1989)
- The Islamist era (1989-present)
Why some of the major attempts of TJ failed (1965, 1977, 1985, 2006) and the 2005 is
going the same road? The presentation will discuss the history of Transitional Justice
especially in the recent history of Sudan. How we implement TJ? This is another area to be
covered by reviewing the tried methods, especially in Africa, such as Court Trials; Truth
Committees; and Redress (material and moral). This presentation will also discuss how SSA
can be part of the unique experimental Truth Committees that was recently proposed by
torture survivors in Diaspora and welcomed by many communities in the North America.
"Politics, Power and Knowledge in Sudan's Media and Educational Institutions:
Implications for Peace and Unity Pursuit"
Hala-Asmina Guta, Ohio University
and
Kitakaya Loisa, MDF- South & East Africa
Sudan stands out as a country that had been embroiled in one of the longest civil wars
in 20th century. With elections taking place in 2010 and a referendum that will decide on
the fate of the country approaching, Sudan now is at a crossroads. At this defining moment
in the country's history and in view of the country's unyielding pursuit for peace,
Sudan's social institution can play a considerable role in either fostering social
cohesion or division thereby influencing in a big way the result of the referendum.
Drawing on what is UNESCO's assertion that "since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in
the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed," this paper aims to
investigate the discourse and politics of knowledge disseminated through two important
social institutions in Sudan: the Sudanese education system and Sudanese media (especially
radio). The study aims to gain better understanding of the relationships between
education, media, and social and political conflict; and better insights for developing a
balanced message, which is fundamental in healing and reconciling a country highly
polarized by war.
The Sudanese Electoral System
"Electoral Systems and Political Behaviour: Challenges Facing Democratization in the
Sudan"
Abdu Mukhtar Musa, Omdurman University
This paper examines electoral systems and political behaviour in the Sudan and notes
that the democratic process in the Sudan has been undermined by military rule which has
governed the country more than democratically elected governments. A whole generation of
the electorate has been cut off from the democratic experience and, hence, from the
electoral process because the present government terminated democracy and banned the
political parties since 1989. The suspension of democracy for 20 years poses such
challenges as: (a) the discontinuity of democratic practice entails greater efforts to
build up political culture which constitutes a major pre-requisite for sound democratic
practice; (b) the absence of democracy weakened the (banned) political parties which
further suffered from intra-party schisms. This might produce a weak opposition. The
dominance of ethnicity over the political behaviour in the country resulted in a
politicized tribe in the rural areas and a tribalized politics in the urban centres –
the outcome is irrational political behaviour. This applies both to the level of elites as
well as the masses. This may affect proper functioning of democracy. The paper proposes
some suggestions that might help bring about a favourable climate for a sound democracy to
function and pave the way for real change in the Sudan.
"Alternative Voting: The Mechanics of Elections in Systems Characterized by Low
Literacy"
Randall Fegley, Pennsylvania State University
An analysis of voting methods employed in societies with high levels of illiteracy with
special reference to Sudan's elections. The advantages and disadvantages of the use of
symbols, photos, colors, readers, town meetings and other techniques and technologies,
past and present.
"The Referendum Game, Where Are the Women?"
Suzan Christopher Lasu
The referendum game started long back in 1955 with the Anyanya 1, who addressed the
issue of Independent South Sudan, and they lay foundation for struggle for freedom to
continue. This research is done among the ordinary women of South Sudan. The women are
grouped as follows:
Working women .i.e. educated women at university level.
Micro-Business women.
Housewives.
Widows.
Aged women – ages 60 and above.
This paper attempt to address the challenges and concerns, and viewpoints of women
regarding the referendum in South Sudan being the only hope for justice to the people of
South Sudan because of the following reasons:
Women have been hostages of war since 1955, and their children never have an opportunity
to serve humanity or themselves with dignity, and freedom to exercise their own way of
thinking, living, and identification as not only people but as part of humanity. Women
don't want to continue being hostages of hatred. For instances any women who lost a son or
a daughter during the war, is not interested in any person who thinks war is a solution to
solving problems or who directly or indirectly is advocating for continues suppression of
the people of South Sudan.
Sudan had been one country for many decades but South Sudan has never rested since
independency of Sudan from the British. Illiteracy has continued, people are being
enslaved, development had been a dream etc. Sudan had been led by ideology where the
people of South Sudan are made to be followers but not thinkers, and those who want to
think for themselves are being punish since 1955 till to date therefore let's give South
Sudan independence an opportunity because it is the right formula, and the only hope for
justice to prevail not only for the Sudanese society but for the entire world.
"Elections and Popular Consultation in Blue Nile State"
Hajmusa Attaegeed
Sudan held its first election in 20 year of military rule. The election were held because
they were one of the milestones of the CPA which ended the war with the South and brought
the SPLM to power creating for now a two state system. Although most traditional political
parties boycotted the election and the NCP received an overwhelming mass support for their
symbol – the tree – , the elections were most heavily contested in Blue Nile
state where the NCP Candidate who was declared as having won with a substantial margin
when on a recount held at the Labor Union Hall turned out to be a loser and the incumbent
SPLM government Geneal Malik Aggar was declared the win of the BNS elections for governor.
The Blue Nile State raised a lot of questions throughout Sudan. This was because he
victory of Malik Aggar came after a week characterized by a heavy build up of troops. The
SPLM claims that the government rushed in approximately 17000 soldiers. These were mostly
police trained along the former Soviet line of the ministry of interior troops and
hardened by war in Darfur. SPLM which maintains a large force in BNS could replenish its
ranks by funneling in more soldiers from Divisions in Upper Nile state. The elections
created a state government in which an elected governor confronts a hostile legislative
assembly dominated by the ruling Popular Congress Party. The CPA had stipulated that the
South Kordofan and Blue Nile should conduct a process of popular consultation after the
election. Popular consultation will decide for the two states whether the CPA satisfied
their needs or if its need reform in which way and form. The popular consultation is a
process controlled by the legislative council of the state. However the Governor will
negotiate on their behalf. The new post election power structure will doom the popular
consultation , probably paralyze the government and prepare the ground for further
conflicts that could erupt after the cession of the south in January 2011.
Sudan's Election Season
"Institutionalized Technologies of Domination: The 2010 Election in the Sudan and
Prospects of Change"
Enrico Ille, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg
The following paper looks at the election in the Sudan in 2010 from the perspective of
organizational studies, based on direct observations, interviews, official, and newspaper
reports. From this perspective, the election and developments surrounding it move both in
accordance with and against institutionalized technologies of legitimization and
governance. The concept `technology' is understood here as organized set of practices, and
concentrates the analysis so not around political figures or figures of speech, but
defines tools and observes agencies using or not using these tools. This angle allows also
thinking about politics, law enforcement, and administration as established mechanisms of
domination in the hegemonic system, which the election is embedded in. The paper finally
leads to the question, if the election rather strengthens or changes these technologies of
domination.
"The `SPLM/SPLA' and the CPA-prescribed "Mid Term" General Elections: An Insider's
Perspectives and Analysis"
Elias Nyamlell Wakoson, State Minister of International Cooperation, GONU, Khartoum
The inclusion of the "mid-term" general elections in the six-year interim period, by
the CPA, was an admission and commitment by the SPLM/SPLA and the National Congress Party
(NCP) to the concept of democratic transformation of the Sudan in time of peace. The
general elections are only one of the complex facets of democratic transformation, yet a
critical political exercise for sustainable peace in the Sudan. The unavoidable question
is, have the two partners lived up to their commitment to democracy and the professed
democratic transformation at all levels of government?
In this presentation, I will focus on the SPLM/SPLA; asking the question whether the
SPLM/SPLA has democratically transformed, itself, "enough" to be able to champion the
democratic transformation of the Sudan? The focus on the SPLM/SPLA is because it waged an
armed struggle against Khartoum for twenty-two years to redress the vices of
marginalization and dictatorial oppression of the marginalized Sudanese, hence its being
the best candidate-party to effect democratic transformation. In just over five years
since the signing of the peace agreement, has the SPLM/SPLA democratized, itself, enough
to become the architect of democratic transformation? This questions leads to my argument
here that a purely military movement, operating in a non-democratic political environment
(even though it has all the powers—control of GOSS and effective partner with the NCP
in the GONU), is incapable of internal democratic transformation and establishing a
democratic system in the country as a whole because of the absence of the culture of
democracy, power corrupts, and the overwhelming complexity of the democratic process
itself.
Post-Election Possibilities
"The Post Referendum Scenarios"
Ayok Chol Ahow, Barrister and Solicitor, Juba, Southern Sudan
Following the world's longest, vicious, costly, and destructive civil war in the Sudan;
a variety of factors forced the government to a negotiating table. The peace talks were
concluded with an agreement which inter alia gave the people of Southern Sudan the right
to decide via a referendum whether they want to succeed from the Sudan. Relying on the
Sudanese historical, socio-economic evidence as well as appreciating external factors the
paper will seek to explore inter alia the following scenarios.
A return to the situation ante by the ruling elites rescinding the peace deal and
declaring a military takeover.
A declaration of independence by the South prior or during the referendum. This can result
to North accepting the de facto situation or a return to war.
Rigging the referendum results in favor of "unity."
Causing disunity and violence among southerners to point where the oppressive and the
genocidal ruling clique appears a better "ruler" of the South.
The successful vote for separation triggering the emergence of two hostile states with
serious or low level political, diplomatic and or military confrontation.
A successful and peaceful vote for separation which results in disagreement over the
sharing of assets and liabilities.
A successful vote for succession in which all parties accept the outcome and soberly
address their new de facto situations.
A successful referendum where the South remains peaceful but the "north" remains one state
or is fractured.
The paper will discuss the implications of each of every scenario outlined supra and will
then make recommendation for each situation.
"Immediate Post-Referendum Programs for Southern Sudan"
- Yongo-Bure, Kettering University
Short of a miracle, most Southern Sudanese are going to vote for a separate country
from Northern Sudan. The widespread hope for separate nationhood is what holds most
Southern Sudanese together and minimizes opposition to the Government of Southern Sudan
(GOSS). Most Southern Sudanese strongly believe that President Salva Kiir will lead them
to the "Promised Land". However, after the "Promised Land" is reached, what will sustain
the solidarity of the new country?
This paper suggests programs that GOSS should embark on soon after the 2010 elections.
Most of the population should be engaged in various productive activities that brightens
their future. Among the quick-impact public sector activities are: timely payment of
salaries, rural public works, crop marketing, water supply, construction of education and
health facilities.
Simultaneously, with the quick-impact projects should be the initiation of long-term
projects with wider impacts on the future development of the new country. Such projects
include the building of oil refineries and the oil-pipeline to the Kenyan port of Lamu on
the Indian Ocean, speeding up of large scale gold exploitation, the construction of major
hydro-electric projects, etc. The establishment of the three major Southern universities
and the construction of modern secondary schools, teachers training colleges, and modern
research hospitals will give the citizens an optimistic view of the future. These
activities need to be planned and started right now. Of course, Khartoum could unify
Southerners through resisting the results of the referendum vote or by choosing to go to
war with the new country. But even this will not be a durable unifying factor. Concrete
socio-economic development, thus creating optimism about the future, will have the most
enduring impact on the stability and viability of the to-be-new country.
"Language as an Element of Unity in Multi-Cultural & Multi-Lingual Post-War Sudan"
Ahmed Gumaa Siddiek, King Saud University
The Sudan witnessed the longest warfare in Africa since its eruption in Aug.17th 1955.
The toll was totaling 2 million dead, along with uncountable number of injured and
disabled. Many lives were lost because of war and war related famine. The number of lost
people was bigger than the total number of the lost souls in the Bosnian, Rwandan and
Somalia wars combined.
Religion and language differences were some causes behind that war. But it is high time
to come over this situation by exploring the recent language policy and planning in
post-war Sudan, after the institutionalization of peace. We aim at encouraging non-Arabic
speaking-ethnic-groups to allow Arabic an official status in government and education; as
well as encouraging the Arabic speaking majority in the North to learn the local Sudanese
languages by being familiar with their wisdom in their oral and written literature and
realizing the role of these languages in enriching the cultural heritage in our country.
Therefore Arabic is to be reintroduced to learners without any religious or genealogical
prejudices or claims; but as a foreign language or second language to bridge the wide gap
between the Sudanese peoples in one future united country.
Colonialism and Independence
"Elite Domination, Fragmentation at the Center, and the Politics of Crisis in
Post-Independence Sudan"
Miklos Gosztonyi, Northwestern University
A persistent characteristic of post-independence Sudanese politics has been a sense of
pervasive instability and crisis, ostensibly putting the continuity of the nation at
stake. Concurrently, another dominant feature of the post-colonial Sudanese state has been
the political, economic and cultural appropriation of the state by a small Northern
riverine elite. This paper will address the seeming contradiction between these two
features. How could a minority elite, so fragmented that it has steadily led to chronic
political instability, manage nevertheless to maintain its dominance over the Sudanese
state since independence? In order to address this apparent puzzle, I will focus on the
weakness of the center itself as a primary explanatory variable. It will be argued that
the fragmented character of the ruling elite in Khartoum makes it difficult for potential
challengers to emerge and pose a substantial threat in a system with multiple power
centers and shifting relationships of patronage.
"The Impact of British Racism on the Sudan"
Kim Searcy, Loyola University
The issue of ethnicity is at the crux of many of the problems that have plagued the
Sudan in the post-independence period. Ethnicity is a very fluid and slippery concept. Rex
S. O'Fahey notes that the most complex kind of slipperiness emerges with the question
concerning the African/Arab divide. According to Jay Spaulding, the process of
Arabisation/ Arabicisation/Islamization is the product of the 17th and 18th centuries
urban centers where itinerant traders (jallaba) and holymen (fuqara) laid the foundations
of a very specific Sudanese Arab identity. Under the British, the process of Arabisation
and Arabicisation increased in the Sudan. The British assumed that Arabs were culturally
superior to other non-Arab Sudanese groups. The purpose of this paper is to examine the
writings of the first generation of British administrators in the Sudan and analyze the
assumption of racial hierarchies in these writings and how these assumptions affected the
Sudanese ethnic identity.
"Between National Unification and Cultural Imperialism: History Teaching and Language
Policy in Late Colonial Sudan, 1946-1956"
Iris Seri-Hersch, IREMAM-Université de Provence
The aim of this paper is to investigate the short-term background to the fifty-year
long conflict between Northern and Southern Sudan. It scrutinizes specific political,
educational and ideological processes unfolding in the last decade of Condominium rule
(1946-1956), highlighting the interconnectedness of British colonial disengagement,
Sudanization trends, and politics of linguistic homogenization. On the one hand, I shall
analyze representations of Southern Sudan in several history textbooks produced in
Khartoum and used in governmental schools in the critical years just before and after
independence. On the other hand, I shall examine the concomitant evolution of
administrative and educational policy in the South. My hypothesis is that the outbreak of
the first Sudanese civil war (1955-1972) is closely related to Northern ambivalent
policies towards the South in the educational sphere. Sharply criticizing the "Southern
Policy" of their British predecessors, Northern Sudanese officials of the late colonial
era advocated national unity through educational standardization and Arabization efforts.
How did they confront the cognitive and practical discrepancy between their ideal of a
culturally homogenous nation-state and the actual diversity of Sudanese historical
experience and social dynamics? How did Southerners react to politics of cultural
homogenization?
Darfur
"AMIS and the Darfur Conflict: Sudanese Responses to the African Union Intervention"
Irit Back, Tel Aviv University
In May 2004, with the African Union resolution to send a military force to Darfur, the
AMIS (African Mission in Sudan) force was established, and in June of that year its first
contingents arrived in Darfur. As the first African Union's resolution about direct
intervention in a conflict that involved massive abuse of human rights, Darfur becomes a
test case for organization peacekeeping abilities. Moreover, as principles of
non-intervention in the internal affairs of the sovereign states tended to be one of the
focal points of the discourse of Africa unity since independence, it seemed that the
establishment of AMIS reflected changing attitudes toward the commitment to the principle
of non-intervention in the internal affairs of sovereign states.
This paper aims to analyze the Sudanese responses to the African Union intervention in
what was perceived as the internal affair of a sovereign state. Through surveying Sudanese
newspapers during 2004-2008, the paper will attempt to examine changing patterns of
Sudanese reactions to AMIS presence in particular, and to the Sudanese discourse regarding
intervention in the internal affairs of their state in general.
'Aid in Darfur? The Political Over-determination of the Aid Architecture?'
Jide Martyns Okeke, University of Leeds
The humanitarian surge in Darfur is often described as one of the largest operations in
the world. This paper argues that the prevailing pattern of aid in Darfur seems to have
engendered a political over-determination of aid in Sudan. This is because of parallels
can be drawn between the prevailing humanitarian operation in Darfur and the political
character of operation lifeline Sudan (OLS), a humanitarian operation in Southern Sudan
that was thought to be a `the basis for one of the decade's biggest relief operations and
perhaps one of history's largest interventions in an active civil war'. However, critics
of the OLS raised the political nature of that humanitarian operation especially in
relation to `suspended' or `negotiated' sovereignty of the Sudanese state. Besides, in
practice the operational effectiveness of OLS was criticised because of the economic
function of aid in sustaining and/or empowering belligerent parties to the conflict
notably the government of Sudan and powerful rebel groups. In recent times, the
humanitarian aid to Darfur has been described as part of the fulfilment of the
international responsibility to protect in that region. Such assertion has increased the
tension and debates on the inherent political nature of aid. More importantly, the
prevailing pattern of aid in Darfur seems to highlight important continuity in the pattern
of the OLS. This paper therefore provides a critical appraisal of humanitarian aid in
Darfur.
.
