Factors that Cause a State to fail with respect to Sudan
Various reasons are attributed to the fall of states and nations. These reasons range from the failure to control or rather the inability to of states to take charge of the processes within a given territory. The failure of states involves the interrelationships between patterns of authority, political control and institution building. Nations fail due to consumption by internal violence and the ceased delivering of political goods to their inhabitants. The failure of state involves the government’s lack of credibility and the nature of the country becomes illegitimate and questionable to the citizens. The major reasons that contribute to the failure of nations are that they fail to provide a decentralized method of delivering political/public goods to the people living in the country. Lack of property rights can lead to the failure of a state in that the citizen are hindered from owning any piece of property as the purports to own everything. This prevents a nation from growing economically and thus poor conditions. This is coupled with forced labor, poor public services, and blockage of new technology by the elites in the nation, greed from the influential people and leaders, lack of law and order and weak central governments. The paper will focus on analyzing the factors that cause states and nations to fail, paying special attention to Sudan.
The Republic of South Sudan became the world’s 195th country in July 2011 after a referendum was formulated that guided the people to vote in favor of the greater Sudan. This came after a long period of civil war that marked one of the most devastating humanitarian crises in history. This period gave the people a turning point as they would have a governing figure of power that was separate from the greater Sudan. The major challenges faced by the two regions in Sudan are attributed to the centuries of exploitation and slave raids by the Arabs in the north region against the Africans who dominated the South.
The major elements in these crises included religion, race, economic exploitation and colonialism. Rebellion emerged in the region when in 1956 southern army officers who were slaves by the northerners against the colonialists. This rebellion emerged into a full-scale battle for independence among between the two regions. The war continued until a peace treaty was signed in 1972. This period marked the first civil war that lasted from 1955 to 1972 between the Sudanese government and the rebels from the south who wanted to acquire greater autonomy for southern Sudan.
This incident portrays an instance where the government lacks law and order. The war attracted the intervention of Addis Ababa who came in to bring significant regional autonomy to southern Sudan on the internal issues that were affecting the nation. However, the treaty only lasted for a few years as another civil war emerged in 1983. The war emanated from issues such as fighting over resources, southern self-discrimination and the role of religion in the state between the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army. This war was brought about by factors such as the decision by then President Jaafar Nimeiri to introduce Sharia Law.
It was also brought about by the dominance of the northern followers who demanded sovereignty of the south. Most of the people involved in the war claimed that the only possible solution for the nation was the separation and independence of the south. This instance portrays another instance why nations fail as it depicts the lack of law and order and a weak central government. The failure to govern the people in a more consolidated manner brought about instances of failure of the state that involved the interrelationships between patterns of authority, political control and institution building. It also led to the country’s consumption by internal violence that hindered the delivery of public good.
The failure of states provides situations that are full of tension, conflicts, danger and huge contests between the warring factions. It also brings about the emergence of rebel groups that battle the government sponsored initiatives. Much of the violence in failed states is directed against the existing government or regime and the inflamed character of the political or geographical demands for shared power or autonomy that rationalize or justify the violence in the minds of the main insurgents. The wars in failed countries emerge from ethnic, religious, linguistic or other inter-communal enmity. These issues bring about fear of the other group that drives immense ethnic conflict and stimulate hostility between regimes and subordinate and the oppressed groups. In the case of Sudan the SPLA fighters would attack small towns conduct ambushes on vehicles and lay mines on the roads. The government in turn responded by sending troops to drive the SPLA back into the bush or across the border to Ethiopia. This condition crumbled and paralyzed the activities of Sudan by posing challenges to the economy and thus the nation failed.
Lack of law and order became a hindrance to the public good in Sudan when oil was discovered. This brought about the intensification of the war as both regions tried to gain dominance over the resource. The government wanted to control the oil by denying the people the right to own property. This brought the intervention of developed countries to restore harmony in the country. They wanted to gain back peace in the country as the government in power by then had failed to promote human flourishing. The growth of criminal violence within Sudan brought to the failure of the state as the rebel groups took over the streets by attacking them during the rainy seasons. They captured young men from the places they attacked and trained them to oppose the government. This paralyzed the activities of the law enforcers as they would not provide security to the people.
The government was in no position to run the country as the leaders who were all former military men best known for the duplicity and greed. They would change sides from time to time and take money and possessions from the government whenever they felt like. This further affected the people as their conditions of poverty worsened. It also affected the stability of the country as the people had little access to trade or markets. The infrastructure of the country was also devastating. These situations further contributed to the rise of opposition from the rebel groups. They also brought to the fall of Sudan.
The situation in Sudan attracted International mediators led by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and support offered by the dynamic United States diplomacy. This helped the nation to harmonize and acquire peace between the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement or Army in the year 2005. It also brought the organizations and political parties such as the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement to sign a comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). This procedure introduced a six year Interim Period that required the implementation of various provisions in order to test the viability of a unified Sudan and to ensure the peace was restored in the country. The intervention of the international bodies portrayed that the government could not control their own borders. They had lost authority over sections of territory where the leaders were limited to various sections of the country. The government of Sudan did not have control over most of the section in the country. This portrays an instance of the reasons as to why nations fail in that the government lacked law and order and was unable to provide public good to the citizens.
The Republic of Sudan failed to provide security to the citizens and acquire an atmosphere of security across the nation. The rebels threatened the national security by attacking the residents and demoralizing government contingents. The Interim Period brought more autonomy to the people of South Sudan and saw their vote in a referendum that determined whether southern Sudan would secede from the general Sudan. In 2003 another conflict emerged in Darfur that brought about the destabilization of the state. This had a huge impact on the state as the educational and medical systems were neglected. This portrayed a clear example of failed states as they have un-paralleled economic opportunities that only favor the haves in the country. The leaders in government did not care about the welfare of the nations and only did activities that favored their self-ambitions. Corruption also enhanced in the country where tenders for medical services fake and terrorism concessions emerged to oppress the citizens. Most of the leaders in failed states have invested their resources in foreign countries just to be on the safe side.
The independence of South Sudan did not come easy. It involved many negotiations and peace talks that aimed at harmonizing the distinct groups. The wars that emerged also led to the removal of various political leaders from power. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement called for a permanent cease fire and sharing of revenues gathered from the oil. The agreement signed divided the state where the north side remained under the Islamic law while its use in the south reins in various regions. It also brought about the union between various leaders from the opposing sides. Over the years when the war was taking place, various leaders were deposed and replaced by others. President Nimeiry was replaced by Sadiq al- Mahdi who brought about various attempts between al- Mahdi and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. He was later ousted by a coup that removed him from power while Omar al-Bashir took over power. Bashir’s system of governing fiercely enforced Islamic codes throughout Sudan. It also banned trade unions, political parties just to mention but a few.
This case portrays instances where failed countries have in place dictator leaders who try to impose certain strategies in the aim of making the country run under one policy. However, it leads to the failure of many nations especially Sudan as other ethnic and religious groups opposed the move and thus created warfare. The treaties signed aimed at restoring harmony in Sudan where the ethnic and religious groups would have their equal share in the way they wanted to be governed.
The people of South Korfordan and Blue Nile who were mostly involved in the fight among the SPLM were to participate in a popular consultation process that aimed at determining how the state could become autonomous within Sudan. The CPA gave the residents a chance and opportunity to vote in their own referendum to determine whether the border that was highly fought over would remain in Sudan or become part of South Sudan. In 2010 elections were held in Sudan that aimed at paving the way for democratic transformation. These elections did not achieve the power sharing initiative as further division was evidenced through the fraud activities from both sides.
It also affected security in South Sudan as the government and army wee frequently attacked by militia groups and inter-communal violence. This posed threats to the citizens. More peace talks continued up until 2011 when the referendum on South Sudanese independence was held. Almost 100% of the people voted for the referendum and for south Sudan to secede from the rest of Sudan. The Republic of Sudan gained independence on 9th July 2011 under the leadership of Salva Kiir who became the first president. On 14th of July the same year the Republic of Sothern Sudan became 193rd member of the United Nations and was incorporated into the African Union as the 54th member state. Despite the challenges the people went through, they still remain focused to rebuild their country.
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