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Paper short abstract:

This paper investigates how Equatorian elites, seeing borders as both political and identity resources, used debates on the presence of Dinka cattle raiders in Equatoria to contest the post-liberation political order in South Sudan.

Paper long abstract:

This paper investigates how Equatorian elites used debates on internal borders to contest the post-liberation political order in South Sudan. Seeing borders as both political and identity resources, Equatorian elites have long called for a rigidification of the administrative boundary between Equatoria and the rest of the country, mainly inhabited by Nilotic peoples. Keen on projecting the image of a homogenous Equatorian ethnic and historical territory despite diverse realities and local rivalries, Equatorian elites are the loudest in advocating for 'true' federalism in post-independence South Sudan. Located in the interdisciplinary space between comparative politics and political sociology, this paper focuses on discourses on the growing presence of Dinka Bor cattle-raiders in Central and Eastern Equatoria. It explores how local disagreements between Dinka Bor and some Equatorian communities are mobilized by Equatorian elites to contest the Sudan People's Liberation Movement's state-building strategy, leading to conflict, discourses on secession and calls to resurrect a fantasized Equatorian nation. This paper is based on fieldwork conducted in South Sudan and archival research done in the National Archives of South Sudan. It aims to contribute to the broader literature on identity, region-making and state-building in Africa.