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UNISCI Discussion Papers, Nº 33 (Octubre / October 2013) ISSN 1696-22065. Concluding RemarksThe current disputes between South Sudan and Sudan are a short-term anomaly, which affectsrelations among grassroots border communities. They result from tempers resulting fromsecession that will take time to calm down. Sudan's post-CPA politics were marred withdisputes that led many average citizens in southern Sudan to believe in secession as a betterpolitical solution. The main factor in the deterioration of relations between South Sudan andthe Sudan is the continuation in power of the former foes who believe that stability of theregion depends on the elimination of the other and the installation of a friendly government.The two states are responding to disputes without caring about the livelihood of their citizenswho share critical resources for their survival. The border communities are to some extentresponsible for the sustained intractability along the rivers providing water and grazing land totheir livestock. So long as the communities pay allegiance to or take sides with thegovernments, it is certain that the status quo will continue for a while. It remains to be seenhow people-to-people relations would develop irrespective of the antagonisms dominating thepolitical landscape in South Sudan and the Sudan.There are many challenges the two countries should strive to overcome in order toengage border communities as beneficiaries of substantial water and grazing land investmentsand services. The first issue is how to pursue diplomatic goals in order to preserve vital waterinterests in a region ridden by political conflicts. The two countries entangle themselves indisputes that hamper progress in communal utilisation of water resources. Their relations callfor flexibility to avoid controversies that involve to a certain degree the communities of Kiir/Bahr al Arab, Bahr al Ghazal and the White Nile river basins in the management of pasturesand the utilisation of water resources. The exploitation of water resources and rich grazingland in border areas requires political stability. Volatile political situations in the border areashave contributed to general poverty among community users due to lack of coherentmobilisation of resources for development of water and pastures. It is incumbent upon SouthSudan and the Sudan to ensure that friendly and stable governments exist to continue theexploitation of the renewable natural resources that bind communities of the two countries.In summary, the border communities are hardly organised to face the challenges thataffect their livelihoods. They lack the skills and values to determine their destinies in thecomplex situation. They accepted the status quo laid down during the colonial period wherelocalised border conferences were organised for them by local government authorities todialogue on predetermined issues. Pastoralists on both sides of the border have not engagedlocal authorities and national governments to formulate policies that should inject their localdemands into national interests. Their satisfaction with local level compacts under theauspices of local governments undermines their effectiveness to influence national policies onwater and grazing lands in border areas. It is a long way for border communities to strategiseand push forward their demands into national policies as long as they contemplate solutions totheir problems through policy-makers who have flimsy ideas about livelihoods in grassrootscommunities.106
UNISCI Discussion Papers, Nº 33 (Octubre / October 2013) ISSN 1696-2206THE PERPETUATION OF A SYSTEM OF CONFLICTS IN DARFUR:CAUGHT BETWEEN LOCAL VIOLENCE AND REGIONALDISORDERAmandine Gnanguênon 1Institut de recherche stratégique de l’Ecole militaireAbstract:In many cases in Africa, armed and non-armed local conflicts, taken separately, interact to the point of creatingwhat can be called “complexes” or “systems”. If some of the concepts may help us to define the regionaldimension of local conflicts, they do not provide us with a better understanding of the overlapping of severalconflicts. Taking the example of Darfur between 2003 and 2011, this article sheds light on how violence anddisorder arose and developed both at local, national and regional levels. It proposes an empirical demonstrationof the originality and relevance of the concept of system of conflicts, with the aim of opening a debate on currentresearch on definitions of conflict and war trough the African prism.Keywords: System of Conflicts, War, Regional Security, Darfur, State, Africa.Resumen:En muchos casos en África, los conflictos locales armados y no armados, considerados por separado,interactúan hasta el punto de crear lo que puede llamarse “complejos” o “sistemas”. Si bien algunos de losconceptos nos pueden ayudar a definir la dimensión regional de los conflictos locales, no nos proporcionan unamejor comprensión acerca de la superposición de varios conflictos. Tomando el ejemplo de Darfur en el periodoentre 2003 y 2011, este artículo contribuye a aclarar cómo la violencia y el desorden surgieron y sedesarrollaron, tanto a nivel local como nacional y regional. El artículo propone una demostración empírica dela originalidad y la pertinencia del concepto de sistema de conflictos, con el objetivo de abrir un debate en lainvestigación actual sobre las definiciones de conflicto y guerra desde un prisma africano.Palabras clave: Sistema de conflictos, guerra, seguridad regional, Darfur, Estado, África.Copyright © UNISCI, 2013.Las opiniones expresadas en estos artículos son propias de sus autores, y no reflejan necesariamente laopinión de UNISCI. The views expressed in these articles are those of the authors, and do notnecessarily reflect the views of UNISCI.1 Amandine Gnanguênon is a Research Fellow on African issues at the Institute for Strategic Research at theEcole militaire (IRSEM) and holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Auvergne, ClermontFerrand.Dr Gnanguênon has a theoretical and operational expertise of regionalism (Regional EconomicCommunities) and regionalization of conflicts in Africa. She is also project manager of War and Politics(Guerre&Po), Emergences Program 2012 (winning project of Paris City Hall). Her main research areas are:African Regional Economic Communities, war in Africa, system of conflicts, security regionalism. IRSEM, case46, 1 place Joffre , 75007 PARIS.Email: amandine.gnanguenon@gmail.com.107
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