Social Science Research Council

Overview
1. The NCP-SPLM partnership for the CPA stands at a critical juncture. The NCP sees the 2009 elections as its route to internal and international legitimacy and is hoping that problems with the census and elections can be pinned on others (the SPLM, the Darfurians). Both parties have failed to find a compromise to the Abyei [...]

This is the third part of a paper based on a memorandum submitted to an informal consultation on the Darfur mediation. This section is solely the responsibility of Alex de Waal.
Part 3: Critical Choices for UNAMID and the Mediation
Into this middle of this protracted and intractable conflict, UNAMID is being deployed. Despite its Chapter VII [...]

This is the second part of a paper based on a memorandum submitted by Alex de Waal and Abdul Mohammed to the informal consultation on the Darfur mediation, held in Geneva last week.
Part 2: What are the Interests of the Parties in a Negotiated Agreement?
Analysis of the Darfur war today leads inexorably to the conclusion: [...]

This is the first in a series of three postings on the challenges facing the UN-AU Mediation. It is an edited version of a paper written jointly by myself and Abdul Mohammed and presented to the AU-UN informal consultations with the international partners on the mediation strategy held in Geneva last week.
Part 1: Is the [...]

Posted on behalf of Johan Brosché
The point of departure for the report, Darfur: Dimensions and Dilemmas of a Complex Situation, published by the Uppsala University Department of Peace and Conflict Research, is a field study conducted by the
author in Sudan during the fall of 2007. The purpose of this analysis is
to deepen knowledge about the [...]

Powers of Persuasion, a new publication from Conciliation Resources is a series of essays on the role of sanctions, incentives and conditionalities in peacemaking. Alongside theoretical, historical and comparative essays by leading figures in the field, there are case studies of a number of conflicts from four continents, including an analysis of the Darfur peace [...]

Here’s a paradox: the Sudan government and the armed movements–both SLAs and JEM–reached agreement on the land clauses in the Darfur Peace Agreement in the weeks leading up to the conclusion of those talks in May 2006. This should be a cause for optimism–a rare case of actual agreement between Khartoum and the rebels. But [...]

Overview
1. The crisis in the CPA unfolded with a speed that was both unexpected and alarming. At the time of writing, the SPLM and NCP have patched up their differences. But the repercussions of the crisis will continue in Sudanese politics for some time.
2. The crisis has revealed and accelerated underlying political trends. The major dimensions [...]

Six months ago, John Prendergast and I debated the response to Darfur at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. This week we continued the debate online, courtesy of Newsweek. It’s a lively exchange and after just two rounds, Newsweek’s deadline was upon us so the editor called time. I would have liked to say more—so I am posting my response to him here.

Posted on behalf of Hassan E. Talib. Hassan is a senior research fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS), in Khartoum, Sudan
Press conference diplomacy has been resorted to by Sudanese partners of Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed between Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and government of Sudan in Nairobi, Kenya, on January 9, 2005. [...]