ABSTRACT
By offering a historical context that preceded the formalisation of South Sudan’s military integration process, this chapter covers four themes that are relevant to understanding the rationales driving the Government of South Sudan’s decision to continue down on the path of military integration during the Interim Period of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement:
The legacy of internal divisions within the southern rebellion – from tensions between Anyanya II and the SPLM/A in the 1980s to the splits within the SPLM/A in the 1990s to the falling out between Garang and Kiir on the eve of the signing of the CPA;
The SPLM/A’s method of bringing in other armed groups, from the integration of Anyanya II to coalescing into a unified group in advance of the signing of the CPA;
Khartoum’s support of non-SPLA armed groups in order to encourage factionalisation and weaken the SPLA; and
The exclusive nature of the peace process, with only the SPLM/A as the representative of southern interests during the peace process.
