South Sudan

'South Sudan is the world's newest independent state and one of its most troubled, confronting both an external threat from an aggrieved government in Khartoum and internal challenges, including the political dominance of a liberation army that retains its militant posture. Arnold and LeRiche provide an excellent guide to the complex history and prospects of an independent South Sudan.' * Alex de Waal, Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation and Research Professor at the Fletcher School, Tufts University * 'Why did Sudan's first civil war, which aimed at secession, result in a form of semi-autonomy, and why did the second civil war - fought in the name of national revolution - end in secession? How was such a firmly entrenched (and profitable) civil war finally brought to a close? And what are the implications of Sudan's history of conflict for the future of Sudan's newest state? This fascinating study draws on in-depth knowledge and privileged access to the southern rebels to provide a cogent analysis of these questions. An excellent book that should be widely read.' * David Keen, Professor of Complex Emergencies at the London School of Economics and author of Useful Enemies: When Waging Wars is More Important than Winning Them * 'A timely, impressively researched and extremely important book on the politics of South Sudan that will become essential reading for students, scholars and analysts of the region as well as the politics of rebel insurgency, and post-conflict state building in Africa and beyond. South Sudan: from Revolution to Independence not only elegantly analyses the complex dynamics behind Sudan's two civil wars, exploring the origins and politics behind the historic secession of South Sudan, but also shows, in impressive detail, the strategic, ideological and political struggles that eventually culminated in Sudan's partition.' - * Khalid Mustafa Medani, Associate Professor of Political Science and Islamic Studies, McGill University * 'This fine work will be of interest to both the general reader seeking to understand the new state of South Sudan in its fabulous diversity and to the specialist wanting a ready reference. LeRiche and Arnold explain how Garang's vision of a united, democratic, secular Sudan paradoxically led to Sudan's ultimate bifurcation.' * Scott Proudfoot, former Director & Chairman, Canada's Sudan Task Force * 'The conflict in South Sudan has seemed to many to be a civil war without end. Although it grabbed headlines for decades, the conflict has not been well understood by the general public. This book is a careful exposition of the history that lead to this war, it outlines the war itself and presents an account of the road to the still precarious agreement that ended it. Written by two young political scientists who prefer inquiry at the grass roots to speculations from the ivory tower, this is a fine example of what a study of a war should be.' * Mervyn Frost, Professor of International Relations, War Studies, King's College, London * 'In this book, Arnold and LeRiche have elegantly explored the realities of state, politics and society in the newest country in the world. It should generate more intellectual and popular discussion than anything published before and after the independence of South Sudan.' * Samson Wassara, University of Juba, South Sudan *

Matthew Arnold is an academic and aid worker specialising in post-conflict reconstruction and the co-author of Militias and the Challenges of Post-Conflict Peace. Matthew LeRiche has a PhD from King's College London and has been living and working in South Sudan and the region since 2004. He is currently a Fellow in Managing Humanitarianism at the LSE.