ABSTRACT
In many respects, the conflict in Darfur, Sudan has been a war like most others: violent, destructive and divisive, with serious disagreements over its origins, causes, dynamics and consequences. But the crisis in Darfur has also been unusual inasmuch as it has captured a remarkable degree of international attention both in comparison to wars that raged in other parts of the world and with those in other parts of Sudan. As Douglas Johnson observed, Darfur ‘stirred the world’s conscience in a way that no other report of slavery, mass civilian deaths or other atrocities in the Sudan did during the previous 21 years of civil war in the South’.1 Along with the obvious human suffering, this extraordinary level of external attention meant that Darfur’s war quickly became a critical case study for anyone interested in the configurations of power and authority in contemporary world politics as well as the assumptions, commitments and priorities driving the policies of powerful actors.
