ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the North-South conflict in the Sudan, and the margin of regional autonomy which the South achieved following the successful conclusion of the Addis Ababa peace talks between the representatives of the Khartoum government and those of the Anya-Nya armed forces. It provides a different perspective on issues of self-determination in postcolonial Africa. The chapter shows that the Sudanese conflict is in many respects different from the other African secessionist conflicts. The specifically cultural orientation of the Arab, Northern-dominated government's policies toward the South constituted a form of oppression which enjoyed considerable legitimacy among Northern leaders and in the cultural context from which they evolved, and which clearly hurt the entire Southern population. The Southern reaction demonstrated the salience of geoethnicity serving as the direct source of rebellious and secessionist activities. The Addis Ababa peace accord preserves the territorial unity of the Sudan but grants specific powers and functions to the Southern Region.
