3 Review(s)

A mere two years after achievingindependence, South Sudan in 2013 descended into violent civil war, refuting USgovernment claims that the country's succession was a major foreign policysuccess and would end endemic conflict. Worse was to follow when theinternational community declared famine in 2017. In the first book-length studyof the South Sudan civil war, John Young draws on his close but criticalrelationship with the rebel SPLM-IO leadership to reveal the true dynamics ofthe conflict, and exposes how the South Sudanese state was in crisis longbefore the outbreak of war. With insiderknowledge of the histories and motivations of the rebellion's chief protagonists,Young argues considerable responsibility forthe present state of South Sudan must be laid at the door of the US-led peaceprocess. Linking the role of the international community with thecountry's opposition politics, SouthSudan's Civil War is an essential guide to the causes and consequences ofthe violence that has engulfed one of Africa's most troubled nations.