The Dynamics of State Failure and Violence: A Comparative Study of Rebellion and Peace Processes in South Sudan's Contemporary History, 2016

South Sudan's independence 9 July 2011 prompted several questions concerning the historical background for this new state formation: After more than fifty years of contentious politics, what made the establishment of South Sudan possible? Was the 54th state in Africa a result of the South Sudanese' decades of armed struggle, foreign diplomatic intervention or perhaps the weakness of the Sudanese state? Taking a step back we see that the combination of weak states and violent politics is a defining trait of the eastern African region where brutal counter-insurgency, proxy warfare and military intervention are constantly taking place. Yet, violent politics and the challenges of governing a country in a permanently bad neighbourhood has been poorly understood. This project sought to analyse South Sudan's independence within a broader regional and global context. It was achieved by taking a multi-disciplinary approach, and employing a range of methods; such as archival research, collection of oral sources, field visits, comparative case-study approaches, and testing of theoretical models. Project contributors delivered towards a two-pronged research agenda. One part focused on South Sudan's contemporary history using recently unearthed archival material. The other part focused on analysing the broader regional context through synthesising studies and close examination of cases in eastern African countries such as Somalia, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. For further information about ”The Dynamics of State Failure and Violence: A Comparative Study of Rebellion and Peace Processes in South Sudan's Contemporary History, 2016”, please contact the principal investigator.

2011年7月9日南苏丹宣告独立，这一新兴国家的诞生引发了诸多关于其历史背景的探讨：历经五十余年的对抗性政治之后，究竟是什么因素促成了南苏丹的独立建国？作为非洲大陆第54个国家，南苏丹的独立究竟源于其民众数十载的武装斗争、外国的外交干预，抑或是苏丹国家本身的国力孱弱？

回溯整体语境可见，国家孱弱与暴力政治并存，乃是东非地区的典型特征——该区域始终充斥着残酷的平叛行动、代理战争与军事干预。然而，学界对于暴力政治，以及在长期动荡的周边环境中治理国家所面临的种种挑战，仍缺乏足够的认知。

本研究项目旨在将南苏丹独立置于更广阔的区域与全球语境下展开分析。项目采用多学科研究路径，结合了多种研究方法：包括档案调研、口述史料收集、实地走访、比较案例研究法，以及理论模型验证。项目参与人员围绕双轨研究议程展开工作：其一聚焦于利用新近发掘的档案史料，研究南苏丹的当代史；其二则通过整合现有研究成果，并深入剖析索马里、布隆迪、刚果民主共和国等东非国家的案例，对更广泛的区域语境展开分析。

如需了解题为《国家崩溃与暴力的动力学：南苏丹当代史中的叛乱与和平进程比较研究（2016）》（"The Dynamics of State Failure and Violence: A Comparative Study of Rebellion and Peace Processes in South Sudan's Contemporary History, 2016"）的更多信息，请联系项目首席研究员。