ABSTRACT
What we know as Sudan 1 is the result of the territory-sharing agreements between the colonial powers in the 19th century. Composed of more than 600 different groups living in the country today, Sudan is characterized by its multiethnic, multicultural, multireligious population. When the boundaries of Sudan were established, these groups were not consulted as to whether they wanted to live together to form one nation. Instead, the delineation of the boundaries by others sealed their fate. The colonial powers essentially adopted a governance system that was centralized and controlled by Khartoum, and that was that. Following Sudan’s independence in 1956, a clique of Sudanese inherited the system and preserved the same colonial social, economic and political structure. The basic features of this structure are as follows:
• A small section of the Sudanese people located in and around Khartoum, near the confluence of the Blue and White Nile, control the state apparatus, impose policies that serve their greedy interests and control and exploit the resources of the country.
