ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the convoluted trajectory of post-conflict peace building and state-building in South Sudan. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) peace process was frustrated by competing intra-SPLM rivalries which prolonged the mediation process in Addis Ababa. The chapter examines these intrigues with special focus on political elite predation in South Sudan and the interposing ethno-political rivalry between President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar. It argues that just like other postcolonial conflicts in Africa, the South Sudan conflict has been aggravated by elite rent seeking and the struggle for political and military control. The chapter explores the international efforts of containing the South Sudan conflict. It examines the regional influence in South Sudan peace agenda. The chapter explains the resurgence of armed conflict and the state of insecurity and humanitarian disaster caused by the relapse into war. It argues that the ethno-military rivalry notwithstanding, competing international interests and regional geopolitics in many ways affect the peace process in South Sudan.
