Track One And Track Two Mediation In The Sudan Conflict: The Case For Dual Diplomacy (1990-January 2005)

Abstract

The origins of the Sudan war has its roots in colonial times when the country was jointly rued by the United Kingdom (Britain) and Egypt from 1899-1955/6. Northern and Southern Sudan were administered separately under this arrangement where the South was deliberately isolated and underdeveloped. There were many levels to this conflict, the broad one being between the North and South marked by the North's determination to lslamicise the whole country and the South's strong opposition against the same. During the course of the conflict, several track one and track two actors have attempted to intervene and bring peace to Country although many of these efforts have come to naught.T he mediation by lOAD however, with the backing of IOAD's partners from the international community brought the country to a new chapter with the signing of the peace deal in January 2005. As analysed in this study, this mediation has been marked by many challenges which reflects a need for African sub-regional organizations (and any other entities engaging in conflict management) to improve their capacity and performance in the management of future conflicts of similar nature. This study also highlights the need to incorporate track two actors (under the concept of dual diplomacy) in conflict management in a more meaningful way owing to the complexity and deep-rooted nature of the issues that underlie such ethnic conflicts which cannot be effectively addressed