Introduction
A lot of global attention has recently been directed towards the ongoing conflict in South Sudan. Less than five years after seceding from the Sudan, the newly formed country has been embroiled in a tribal conflict that has quickly escalated into a civil war. At the very heart of the conflict is a fight over resources between the two major tribes, Nuer and Dinka, which make up the dominant tribes in the country. The onset of the civil war was a political power struggle between President Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar (Civil War in South Sudan, 2016). The focus of this paper is on the most appropriate mechanism that can be employed to ensure a sustainable transformation of the country’s culture from a violent one to peaceful one.
Analysis of Root Causes
For effective conflict transformation to occur, among groups or individuals, the primary goal should be on understanding its nature of occurrence. The root causes of a conflict provide a solid foundation for understanding a conflict before engaging in its transformation. Conflict resolution can be attained through not only understanding the underlying factors among conflicting parties but also the motivation to engage in the particular conflict, as explained in Chapter 11 by Kriesberg and Dayton (2012). According to (Maddison 2015), at the very heart of every motivation to conflict lies an unsatisfied basic need (2015).
While the South Sudan crisis might have broken out of political power struggles, it is fueled and motivated by resource allocation squabbles. The two major communities believe that being in power allows for the best position to gaining resources. The culture of violence in South Sudan is perpetuated by the incessant fear of loss of access to resources and a lack of basic needs (Fisher & Ury, 2012). The tribes of South Sudan have been in conflict for ages over cattle rustling and grazing fields. The fundamental cause of the conflict can be linked to the struggle over scarce resources.
Conflict Transformation Strategies
The solution to the South Sudan conflict requires a better understanding of the impact of the conflict on the way of life for the local communities and tribes. With over a million people on the run, the livelihoods of the people have been thwarted by the normal way of life of the people. A great deal of the tribes in South Sudan practice farming and pastoralism both of which have been greatly compromised by the ongoing conflict. Once the root causes have been ascertained, there is a need to establish mechanisms that minimize the occurrence of adversarial confrontations, a concept that is elaborately discussed in Chapter 11 of Constructive conflicts: From escalation to resolution (Kriesberg & Dayton, 2012).
In order to deal with South Sudan conflict effectively, an elaborate and effective structure of basic needs provision has to be established for the long-term. Education is an instrumental way of coming up with a lasting solution to the South Sudan challenge. Scholarships and education kitties tailored for the South Sudanese students are one way that can be used to ensure lasting peace and sustainability (Fisher & Ury, 2012). Educating the youth and kids of South Sudan will be essential in providing the capacity, skills and knowledge for cohesion and nation building.
Education will accord the youth and children of South Sudan a chance to view their nation from a different perspective, learn to cooperate and most importantly, help pull their nation out of the tribal strive and civil war cycles. The South Sudan crisis is deeply rooted in the resource problems despite being sparked by political power struggles (Civil War in South Sudan, 2016). The ceasefire treaties have failed to be effective owing to the fact that while the leaders are quick to sign them, they can barely see eye to eye. The problem, as earlier stated, is fundamentally not political but rather resource based. The government in power, led by President Kiir and his Deputy Machar, has to develop plan for equitable resource distribution.
Coming up with a constitution will be one way of ensuring that every tribe feels represented. However, for the constitution to be developed, the first step will be a dialogue between the leaders to discuss the way forward regarding the development of a new constitution (Dayton & Kriesberg, 2010). President Kiir and Machar primarily hold the keys to long-lasting peace in the region; while they may have personal differences rooted in the terms of their power-sharing deal, there is a need for them to come to the realization that a country can only be governed by the people in it.
The civil war continues to rage on partly because the two top leaders have failed to attain a common ground for sharing of the resources (Kriesberg and Dayton, 2012). Each of the political leaders seeks to reward their tribe the most, failing to take account of other minority tribes within the country. The experts and diplomats working their way to bring the conflict to a peaceful end have to realize that the solution cannot be attained by the innumerable peace treaties and ceasefires that are signed but rather through a constructive confrontation process (Fisher & Ury, 2012). Solving the political standstill, which has been the focus of many of the conflict experts working in the country, momentarily brings peace to the country, but until the underlying problem has been resolved, the country stands not chances of being united.
The leaders continue to argue about possible coups and limited autonomy in choice of ministers and other government leaders-issues that are far from the root cause of the civil war. While education and awareness might work in the long-term, the immediate approach that can be utilized to help transform the conflict lies in bringing the nation’s leaders to face the very fundamental fact that they are avoiding: sharing of national resources (Maddison, 2015). The establishment of a constitution in the next few months offers a solid foundation upon which the issue can be analyzed and solutions developed for the people of South Sudan (Kriesberg & Dayton, 2012).
Conclusion
The resolution of a conflict is marred with innumerable obstacles and challenges. To deal with a conflict effectively and attain a sustainable and lasting solution, a deep analysis has to be made on the underlying causes and motivation factors behind the conflict. The first line of defense is to understand what the conflicting parties are fighting over, after which a clear strategy can be developed and adopted to help attain a solution. There is also the need to develop a tool that can deal with any stalemates that arise in the course of resolving the conflict. Transforming conflict requires a single-minded focus on the victims that of the violence and incorporate their needs and issues to address the crisis at hand. Conflict transformation offers the single most effective way of dealing with societal conflicts. Despite the hardships and hurdles that have to be overcome, the South Sudan crisis stands a better chance of being peaceful, if transformation rather than resolution is employed.
References
Civil War in South Sudan (2016). Retrieved July 25, 2016, from http://www.cfr.org/global/global-conflict-tracker/p32137#!/conflict/civil-war-in-south-sudan
Dayton, B. W., & Kriesberg, L. (2010). Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding: Moving
Fisher, R., & Ury, W. (2012). Getting to Yes: Negotiating an agreement without giving in. Random House.
Kriesberg, L., & Dayton, B. W. (2012). Constructive conflicts: From escalation to resolution. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield.
Maddison, S. (2015). Conflict transformation and reconciliation: multi-level challenges in deeply divided societies. Routledge.
