Publication

This study examines the challenges facing South Sudan shortly after its independence. These include a lack of basic infrastructure, weak market development, and insecurity left by the civil war. The fractious political situation increases the difficulty of administering consistent development policies to overcome these challenges. Likewise, experience with international donors has often displayed suboptimal results, revealing discrepancies between the interests of donors and those of the local political elite. The author concludes that to help South Sudan, the international community should focus more on smaller projects instead of larger-scale international state-building.