Suchergebnisse

Even after gaining independence, South Sudan has experienced repeated outbreaks of conflict. Under these circumstances, national sports events have been held under the theme of "Peace and Social Cohesion." This paper aims to verify the role that national sporting events play in promoting social capital among the athletes who participated in the event. The finding of the paper shows that by creating a safe space for peaceful coexistence during the sporting event, athletes were able to overcome their anxiety toward other ethnic groups, and through their interactions with other athletes, develop mutual respect and friendships. This, in turn, led to a reduction of their prejudice toward other ethnic groups and to greater trust and networks among athletes. As the paper suggests, sports events may help to promote social capital for ethnic reconciliation by providing a safe space for peaceful coexistence in South Sudan.

Since South Sudan's independence, complex conflicts across the country have eroded trust, challenged nation-building, and displaced 4 million people, with hunger threatening millions more, continuing a long tradition of war inherited from the Sudan. This article examines people's perceptions of conflict in Aweil and Yambio and found that for trust in the government to return, citizens must believe that development is ethnically and politically inclusive and coherent. In addition to a credible program, government's effective communication of a "peace through development policy" could rebuild the torn social fabric within and across ethnic groups, and between them and Government.

The Abyei area, which straddles the border of the two Sudans, had been a theatre of war since 1965. In 2016, the Amiet market emerged from a remote forest grove to initiate a new kind of social contract making. It has quickly become a melting pot of various communities and created space for nurturing new relations but has also generated tensions that may threaten its own survival. As stakeholders negotiate a solution to the political dispute over Abyei, this article explains how agro-pastoral resources, including the market itself, factor in both conflict and cooperation. It cites evidence that social capital dynamics are changing along the lines of age and gender. It argues that these may present an opportunity for realigning interests amongst competitive communities, with Amiet market as a possible point of entry for policymakers. It concludes with recommendations for conflict transformation through commercialisation of the traditional agro-pastoral sector.