Failure of Conflict Management and Resolution in Sudan

Abstract

Sudan is one of the most persistent and analytically consequential examples where peacebuilding doesn’t work in contemporary international relations. The country has been hit over and over by armed clashes since its independence in 1956, which are tied to older colonial-era asymmetries, economic marginalization, contests over resources, and the way successive governments have repeatedly used armed factions as tools. Even with a lot of internationally sponsored activity, like the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, the Juba Peace Agreement 2020, and big peacekeeping efforts such as UNAMID, Sudan’s conflict have stayed unresolved. This all culminated in the devastating April 2023 war which led to the world’s largest internal displacement crisis.  In this paper, a qualitative secondary research approach has been used to examine the structural failure to manage conflict in Sudan. This failure comes from mediation that lacks real enforcement leverage, exclusionary peace templates, competing external patronage networks, hollow state-building, and ongoing neglect of structural violence. By looking at policy briefs and academic writings, the paper argues that lasting peace in Sudan will demand a fundamental reshaping of the peacebuilding architecture; that really emphasizes structural change, inclusive participation, and a true enforcement capacity, rather than focusing only on procedural compliance

Keywords: Conflict resolution, Geopolitical market, International mediation, Power politics, Peacebuilding failure, Structural violence