South Sudan ― Post-independence Dilemmas

South Sudan: Post-Independence Dilemmas is an interdisciplinary collection of essays which engages with the failure of the newest African State to transition itself successfully to a state and nation after its independence in July 2011.

The contributors explore the prospects for new modes of politics capable of simultaneously healing and reconciling the divided communities while moving the country beyond divisive ethnic identities. As they focus on the political, historical, legal, or cultural challenges presented in the process of state formation, the chapters situate South Sudan’s dilemma in its history of political elitism and gender violence, and the role of international actors in order to examine the effects of these factors and the national mechanisms which have attempted to address them.

By foregrounding the relationship between the crises of the state and the politics of ethnicity in South Sudan, the book explores new potentialities in finding an alternative pathway redirect and unleash the creative energies and capacities of the peoples in South Sudan for meaningful social and economic development. As such, it will be of interest to scholars of African Politics and State Building.

Dr. Amir Idris is a Professor of African History and Politics, and the Chair of the Department of African and African American Studies at Fordham University in New York City. His teaching and research interests focus on the history and politics of colonialism, on slavery and race, and on post-colonial citizenship in Northeast and Central Africa. His publications include Sudan's Civil War: Slavery, Race and Formational Identities (2001), Conflict and Politics of Identity in Sudan (2005), and Identity, Citizenship, and Violence in Two Sudans (2013), and he has also published numerous book chapters and articles.