Sudan vs. South Sudan (SPLM)

1972 - 2011

Core issue: Secessionist movement of Southern Sudan
along ethnic and social cleavages

Type of conflict ending: Peaceful thawing

The conflict that erupted in Sudan was primarily about territorial independence. During colonial rule,
the British imposed a "Southern Policy" according to which relations between the North and South were severed. Although this policy was reversed before Sudan gained its independence, it fed animosity between the two regions which resurfaced during the first civil war (1955-72). Southerners began to fear domination from the North, who wanted to establish a predominantly Islamic Arab culture throughout the state. After the North broke its agreement to establish the country as a federation and began imposing Islamic practices on non-Arab and non-Islamic people, the Southerners began a secessionist movement that eventually culminated in independence in 2011.

After a lengthy negotiation process that lasted from 1969 to 1972, Sudan proper and South Sudan signed the Addis Ababa Agreement, which allowed for regional autonomy in three southern provinces. Soon after, the civil war came to an end, although not for long. Opposition between the north and south arose again when General Gafaar Nimeiri came to power and altered the constitution to incorporate Sharia law.
By 1983, fighting resumed between the Sundanese government and a new rebel group known as the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army, SPLM/A.

While the SPLM/A originally advocated for regime change rather than secession, it gradually changed its aims over the course of the civil war. By meeting with several Northern opposition groups starting in the early 1990s, it paved the way for the South's right to self-determination in negotiations. The conflict was eventually resolved in 2011, when South Sudan gained independence through referendum, but issues regarding the demarcation of the border in the Abyei region have persisted and have been the focus of recent UN peacekeeping efforts. Hence, the frozen conflict over the independence of South Sudan ended through peaceful thawing.

Sources

Christopher, A.J., 2011. "Secession and South Sudan: An African precedent for the future?", South African Geographical Journal, 93 (2), 125-132.

Kebbede, G., 1997. "Sudan: The North-South Conflict in Historical Perspective", Contributions in Black Studies, 15 (1).

Keen, D., 2000. "War and peace: What's the difference?", International Peacekeeping, 7 (4), 1-22.

Salman, S., 2013. "South Sudan road to independence: Broken promises and lost opportunities", Pac. McGeorge Global Bus. & Dev. LJ, 26, 343.

Suliman, M., 1997. "Civil war in Sudan: The impact of ecological degradation", Contributions in Black Studies, 15 (1), 7.