Situation Update: Tensions Escalate in South Sudan

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outh Sudan's 2018 power-sharing agreement is under threat as tensions flare between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and members of the opposition party led by Vice President Riek Machar. In recent weeks, clashes in the country's northeast threaten to undo a fragile peace process initiated in 2018. The implementation of the peace agreement stalled in recent years with few, if any, of the reforms being instituted. 

Recent tensions have received international attention with the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan warning of “alarming regression” in the peace process and the United States ordering the departure of all non-emergency government staff from the country. Attention has been further heightened by the deployment of Ugandan troops to Juba on Tuesday.  

The Wilson Center Africa Program supports informed research and analysis from South Sudanese, African, and US analysts and researchers since the country’s independence. This includes organizing the long-running Sudans Working Group and acting as secretariat for the Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding. For over a decade, the Africa Program has supported or produced analyses on the peace and security dynamics in the country and surrounding regional implications including the implementation of peace agreements and reconciliation efforts between conflict parties.  

Below, we have compiled recent analysis and resources produced or supported by the Wilson Center Africa Program on peace and security dynamics in South Sudan. The resources provide insights into the important and interconnected history of peace talks before and after independence, and shed light on the cycles of violence and conflict that have led to this moment. These insights help inform the current context and outline possible paths forward to preserve South Sudan’s fragile peace. 

2025 

• South Sudan Postpones Elections To 2026: A Move Toward Inclusivity and Stability

2024 

• South Sudan’s Only Path to Stability: Reforming the Country’s Security Sector

2022 

• Sudans Working Group: An Update on the Political Situation in Sudan and South Sudan
• Balancing Carrots and Sticks: The United States as a Peace Guarantor in South Sudan

2019 

• The Fragile Peace: What is the Fate of South Sudan’s Transitional Government of National Unity?
• Sudans Working Group: Facing a Watershed Year in the Sudans—Khartoum Grapples with Unrest; Juba Braces for Transitional Government

2018 

• South Sudan’s Peace Deals: From the Khartoum Declaration to Power Sharing

• The Layers of Grievances in the South Sudan Conflict
   

  For more resources on South Sudan, you can search our publications.