South Sudan achieved political independence in 2011, before plunging into a series of civil wars that have culminated with the signing of the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development, IGAD, driven peace agreement. The Sudan People's Liberation Movement, SPLM, Government has not created conducive environment for political stability in South…

Just three years since it broke away from Sudan, the new country of South Sudan is embroiled in a violent civil war. This article examines what went wrong and why, by discussing the incredible difficulty of building a new nation from scratch following years of conflict, war, suspicion, and great expectations. How this tragedy will end is anyone's…

Every year American faculty members bring students to Africa to participate in study-abroad programs. Last December Joseph Akol Makeer, a Sudanese student at the author's institution, North Dakota State University, turned the tables and brought the author to his home village in Sudan, Duk Payuel, to see how they might help rebuild that war-torn…