This qualitative study investigates the complex dynamics of peace implementation in South Sudan following the 2018 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS). Drawing on elite interviews and document analysis, it argues that the formal peace process has been consistently undermined by a political economy of conflict predicated on elite resource bargaining, which in turn has fuelled local-level resistance and sub-national violence. The analysis reveals a critical disjuncture between the agreement's institutional prescriptions and the realities of power consolidation, demonstrating how implementation failures are not merely technical but deeply political. The study concludes that sustainable peace requires moving beyond elite-centric pacts to address the grievances and agency of marginalised communities.