Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the power of convivial practices in struggles for justice by lawyers and community activists, working under conditions of extreme political repression and violent conflict. It draws on extensive ethnographic and documentary research in South Sudan, and with refugees in Egypt.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores the power of convivial practices in struggles for justice by lawyers and community activists, working under conditions of extreme political repression and violent conflict in Africa. It draws on extensive ethnographic, documentary and collaborative action research from 2014-2019 in South Sudan during a civil war, and from 2019-2023 among South Sudanese refugees in Egypt, under conditions of authoritarian rule. First, it explores the concept of conviviality as a political idea and a praxis of living with difference. It draws upon Francis Nyamnjoh’s (2017) expression of conviviality as inclusive, negotiated knowledge and action in urban African communities, and Paul Gilroy’s (2004) definition of ‘radical openness’ among people in multicultural urban areas in Europe, showing how conviviality challenges colonial logics of categorization, violence and racism. Second, it establishes South Sudan and Egypt as illustrative cases where notions of ethnic, racial or religious difference are highly politicized, legalized and enacted through violence; and where there are sharp constraints on legal and civic activism. Third, it explores how a handful of lawyers and activists find innovative ways to enact conviviality, creatively dealing with normative, legal and cultural difference, forging new solidarities, and making modest but tangible gains for justice. Finally, the paper reflects on the lessons of this convivial legal activism, contrasting it with institutionalised domestic and international approaches to justice and considering its future possibilities.