Vol. 1 No. 1 (2026)
The Politics of Implementation: A Qualitative Analysis of Elite Bargaining and Local Resistance in South Sudan's Revitalised Peace Agreement
Abstract
This qualitative study investigates the complex political dynamics underpinning the faltering implementation of South Sudan's 2018 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS). Drawing on elite interviews and local focus groups, the research argues that the formal peace architecture has been systematically subverted by a resilient political marketplace, where elite bargains for power and resources consistently override commitments to security sector reform and transitional justice. The analysis reveals a critical disjuncture between national-level negotiations and local experiences of insecurity, where community-led resistance and parallel dispute-resolution mechanisms have emerged as de facto governance structures. The findings contribute to broader debates on hybrid political orders and the limitations of internationally brokered peace frameworks in contexts of entrenched patrimonialism.
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