Publication

This background report analyses the series of inter-related pressures and the underlying governance crisis that threaten to destabilize Unity state in South Sudan. The author argues that political, social, economic and security concerns form a perfect storm. Although rebel militia activity has drawn considerable attention to the state, the fault lines in Unity run deeper than the rebellions. A governance crisis has polarised state politics and sown seeds of discontent. Territorial disputes, cross-border tensions, economic isolation, development deficits and a still tenuous North-South relationship fuel instability, each one compounding the next amid a rapidly evolving post-independence environment.