References

• The NLP-driven identification of a discernible narrative shift from overtly militaristic and divisive rhetoric towards a more institutional and procedural lexicon post-2018 is a significant finding. This linguistic transition, marked by the rising salience of terms related to governance, constitution, and elections, aligns temporally with the signing of the R-ARCSS and suggests a surface-level adoption of a peacebuilding vocabulary by political elites and media channels. However, a critical interpretation, informed by the political economy of South Sudan, suggests this shift may represent a form of ‘performative compliance’ as much as genuine commitment. The persistence of underlying adversarial sentiment and the cyclical re-emergence of security-centric frames during reported violations indicate that the new institutional narrative is fragile and often sits atop unaddressed grievances and power struggles. As noted in conflict studies literature, elite pacts in South Sudan have historically been more about power-sharing between central actors than transformative peacebuilding for the populace . The computational detection of this duality—a veneer of procedural talk over persistent undercurrents of discord—corroborates this view, highlighting the risk that the R-ARCSS becomes a framework for managing elite competition rather than a catalyst for deep structural reform.