Paper long abstract:

After years of violent conflict South Sudan is undergoing a delicate process of conflict transformation and state-building. In 2005 the main parties in conflict signed a comprehensive peace agreement which is being implemented in a tense context. This has opened up new avenues for negotiating state power and authority also at the local level.

During the era of Anglo-Egyptian rule a “Native Administration” based on indirect rule was installed in Southern Sudan. It was built on traditional socio-political structures which differed according to given local socio-cultural setting. Where no hereditary authorities were present such political institutions i.e. chieftainships were created. Beside the so called chiefs of the native administration a variety of different types of traditional leaders exist until today. Since independence the South of Sudan has been affected by violent conflicts. However, in areas where the Sudanese state was not physically present, no vacuum of authority appeared. Instead non-state actors such as militias and traditional authorities governed.

Nowadays even though the process of post-conflict state building brought administrators physically into villages chiefs are still crucial in many ways: They judge local courts, and they solve disputes between families and clans. In addition chiefs are important in settling conflicts between ethnic groups. Chiefs cover administrative tasks such as collecting taxes, and they act as in-between the population and the government administration. Their status is hybrid and they are perceived as being member of the administration and representatives of the communities at the same time. The Local Government Act which has not yet been approved by the South Sudanese legislative Assembly shall legally determine the competencies and activities of chiefs in the South.

In the context of the panel’s focus on the resurgence of traditional authorities in state governance in Africa this presentation will trace the role of traditional authorities and non state institutions such as networks based on clans on the local level in the post-conflict state-formation setting of South Sudan. It will shed a light on the way traditional authorities and other actors negotiate authority and influence in local political arenas.