South Sudan is the youngest member state of the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU). It gained independence in 2011 after prolonged two civil wars in the quest for freedom from Sudan.
South Sudan entered into violent civil war in less than three years of its independence in 2013, followed by another civil war in 2016. These two civil wars caused massive forced displacement of about 4.5 million people (37% of the country’s total population), while about half a million people perished, with more than 80% under the poverty line and about 60% facing severe malnutrition and famine. Since its independence, South Sudan has been consistently ranked as among the most fragile states and the least peaceful countries in the work. With such dreadful humanitarian and security situations, the country has been receiving massive humanitarian and security assistance with considerable presence of international and regional forces under the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS. Despite the high presence of international and regional forces, the insecurity and communal tension persist in all parts of the country.
In order to end civil wars, peace talks culminated in the signing of two peace agreements in 2015 and 2028. These agreements provided mechanisms for establishing a professional, unified and depoliticised security sector. The 2015 peace agreement did not live long, as the second civil war erupted in 2016, which was ended by another peace agreement in 2018. However, the 2018 peace agreement remains unimplemented, and that resulted in recurrent extension and postponement of elections, thus delaying the democratic transition.
The two peace agreements have narrowly focused on state security actors as the effective way of reforming and transforming the security sector and sustaining peace. However, the increased level of insecurity is largely caused and sustained by a diverse range of non-state security actors, particularly involved in communal conflicts and tensions. In most instances, these non-state actors mobilised, either in opposition to, or alongside, the state to be part of insurgency or counterinsurgency warfare. There are, however, cases that these non-state actors have contributed to communal conflicts resolution. Addressing the rampant insecurity and communal violence in the country will require a recognition of this diverse range of security sectors to play a positive role in the hybrid security sector governance and conflict management.
