Social Science Research Council

Alex de Waal’s Christian Michelsen lecture, ‘Fixing the Political Marketplace,’ given last month in Bergen, Norway, is now available online at this link. His article ‘The Price of Peace’ in Prospect magazine can be accessed here.

War and Survival in Sudan’s Frontierlands: Voices from the Blue Nile, by Wendy James, is now available in paperback. We reprint the review from its earlier (hardback) publication.

Wendy James’s three books on the Uduk people of southern Blue Nile, a frontier area of northern Sudan that abuts both southern Sudan and Ethiopia, describe not only [...]

A new volume examines climate and ecological changes in Sub-Saharan Africa, and how these relate to conflicts on the continent. Particular attention is paid to environmental and livelihood aspects of the crisis in Darfur. Conclusions are drawn regarding peace-building in areas facing resource constraints.

The book includes research conducted in-house at UPEACE Africa in Addis Ababa [...]

The following documents from the African Union Panel on Darfur can be uploaded here:
The AUPD report as presented last week: AUPD Report Final October 2009
The communique of the AU Peace and Security Council: PSC Mtg Cmqe 29 Oct 09
The speech of Pres. Thabo Mbeki to the AU PSC on 29 October: Speech by Pres Mbeki [...]

The controversy over whether HIV positive individuals should be deployed as peacekeepers took a new turn this week when Sergeant Sipho Mthethwa of the South African National Defence Force was deployed as a peacekeeper to Sudan. Originally, the SANDF had refused to deploy Sgt. Mthethwa, who is a musician, because he was openly living [...]

For more than 150 years, the Atlantic has told the stories of people who commit acts of moral and intellectual bravery by espousing unpopular or controversial positions. In a special issue of the magazine, the editors have chosen 27 leaders – from business and politics to science and media – who embody this great tradition [...]

SPEECH OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE AUPD, THABO MBEKI, ON HANDING OVER THE AUPD REPORT TO THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE AU COMMISSION, JEAN PING: AU HEADQUARTERS, ADDIS ABABA. OCTOBER 8, 2009.
Your Excellency, Mr Jean Ping, Chairperson of the AU Commission,
AU Commissioners,
Your Excellencies Ambassadors and members of the diplomatic corps,
Distinguished guests:
Following the decision taken by [...]

The name Hussein Abu Sharati figures frequently in media coverage of the Darfur IDPs, usually as “IDP spokesman.” His name means “chief of chiefs” with reference to the Fur administrative chiefly rank, shartai. But who is Abu Sharati? Amanda Taub of Wronging Rights has done some investigations. Her three-part posting makes salutary reading.

The National Democratic Institute has just released its latest report on public opinion in Sudan. Entitled Imagining the Election, the report explores what citizens in Southern Sudan and the Three Areas know and expect of the country’s planned 2010 vote.

Based on 78 focus group discussions with 964 citizens in Southern Sudan, Abyei, Southern Kordofan and [...]

The AU Panel on Darfur has completed its fourth mission to Sudan, with the purpose of consulting a wide range of Darfurian and other Sudanese stakeholders about its possible recommendations on the three issues of peace, justice and reconciliation, and moving towards finalizing its report. A press release is available here: au-panel-listens-to-darfur
The picture shows President [...]