PeaceRep's Sudans Programme

research grant applications from postdoctoral researchers, policy analysts, and practitioners working on the drivers of conflict at universities and non-governmental organisations

The Conflict and Civicness Research Group’s South Sudan and Sudan programming draws upon Dr Matthew Benson’s, Raga Makawi’s and Hannah Logan’s extensive in-country networks in both Sudans. In South Sudan, the CCRG frequently collaborates with the Bridge Network of South Sudanese researchers, which is an in-country research network that was co-produced during previous LSE research collaborations in the country. Whereas in Sudan, research draws upon feminist activist networks in the country. The programme is an example of international civil society in action, with research agendas frequently driven by the research questions and demands among on-the-ground actors.

Sudan and South Sudan are undergoing profound economic, social, and political transformation. Sudan is in the wake of a fragile democratic revolution that has partially ousted three-decades of Omar al-Bashir’s authoritarian rule. Deposing al-Bashir was previously unthinkable, yet the seemingly impossible was achieved in April 2019 and momentum has been sustained by a non-violent youth and women-led decentralised protest movement. Sudan’s democratic transition nevertheless remains uncertain. The government has been composed of a polarised coalition between democratic civil society activists and the long-entrenched military junta. Civil society activists call for the complete ouster of the military from government; meanwhile, the military allegedly maintains illicit lucrative business interests that motivates their enduring stronghold within government.

Neighbouring South Sudan’s politics and economics are also defined by state capture by the few at the majority’s expense. Neither decades of civil wars nor the country’s 2011 independence have disrupted extractive governance patterns that can be traced to at least British-led occupation of the country from 1899 to 1956 and subsequent Khartoum-led rule from the 1970s until 2005. Akin to the British-led colonial government and the subsequent Khartoum-led regime that oversaw the territory following decolonisation, the state remains a vehicle for self-enrichment even when led by the rebel movement turned ruling political party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM). Everyday South Sudanese, who endure some of the world’s poorest public health and education outcomes consequently experience few benefits from independence and conditions further deteriorated following the resumption of violence in December 2013.

Both Sudans are at critical junctures in which extractive politics can either be subverted or further entrenched by on-going shifts in the national, regional, and international political economy that risk fragmenting both countries. Meanwhile, Sudan’s civic communities powerfully illustrate civic movements’ exceptional centrality to meaningfully resist the coercive politics that define the nature of governance in both Sudans. Likewise, on-going peace processes in both countries provide unique openings for the international community and international civil society to shape each country’s transition from violence towards more inclusive peace agreements that reduce conflicts within each country and the region.

- Understanding South Sudanese civic communities’ relationship to natural resources outside of petroleum and rethinking how natural resources can be innovatively managed in ways that support disempowered communities’ efforts to avoid further extraction by governing elites.

- Identifying previously unstudied divergent narratives of civicness within Sudan’s revolutionary discourse to help the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and its partners tailor policies that support rather than undermine Sudan’s democratic transition.

- Exploring how to forge expanded economic inclusion within peace agreements in both Sudans, which has been previously neglected despite exclusionary politics’ centrality to conflicts in both countries.

- Improving understanding of regional geo-political networks and ‘arenas’, including the Red Sea Arena in which Gulf States play substantial roles in maintaining peace.

Works in Progress

· Benson, M. ‘Taxed Loyalty and Embedded Predation: Revenue and Subordination in South Sudan from Colonial to Rebel Rule, 1899 to 2021’, submitted to Comparative Studies in Society and History.

· Benson, M. ‘Financing the Fragment State in Sudan’ (In Preparation).

· Benson, M. and Makawi, R. ‘Sudan in Theory: Civicness in Sudan’s Democratic Transition’ (In Preparation).

· Benson, M. Revenue and State Subordination in Sudan and South Sudan to be submitted to Cambridge University Press’s African History series.

Journal Articles

· van den Boogaard, V., Prichard, W., Benson, M. and Milicic, N. (2018) ‘Revenue Mobilization in Conflict-Affected Developing Countries’. Journal of International Development, Special Issue on ‘Fiscal Policy, State-Building and Economic Development’, Issue 30.

Policy Publications & Working Papers

· Benson, M. and Alneel, M. (2023) ‘The Everyday Politics of Sudan’s Tax System: Identifying Prospects for Reform’, Peace and Conflict Resolution Research Platform (PeaceRep), London School of Economics and Political Science.

· Benson, M. (2022) ‘Taxation and Civicness in South Sudan: Revenue Reforms for a More Inclusive Democracy’, Peace and Conflict Resolution Research Programme (PeaceRep) London School of Economics and Political Science. (https://peacerep.org/publication/taxation-and-civicness-in-south-sudan-revenue-reforms/)

· Benson, M. (2022) ‘Taxation, Coercion and Civicness in South Sudan’, In Lynch, M., Aidi, H. and Mampilly, Z. (eds.) The Struggle for Democracy in Africa: Elections, Coups and Popular Opinion. New York: Program on African Social Research at the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, CUNY. (https://www.pasiri.org/_files/ugd/d71c2d_cb54eed64f204d1893da620dc998d35c.pdf)

· Kaldor, Mary, Radice, Henry, de Waal, Alex, Benson, Matthew, Detzner, Sarah, Elder, Claire, Hoffmann, Kasper, Ibreck, Rachel, Majid, Nisar, Morgan, Azaria, Mehchy, Zaki, Rangelov, Iavor, Sarkar, Aditya, Spatz, Benjamin J., Theros, Marika, Turkmani, Rim, Vlassenroot, Koen and Watkins, Jessica (2020) ‘Evidence from the Conflict Research Programme: submission to the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy’. Conflict Research Programme, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK. (https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/106522/)

· Pape, U., Benson, M., Ebrahim, M., and Lole, J. (2017) ‘Reducing Poverty Through Improved Agro-Logistics in a Fragile Country: Findings from a Trader Survey in South Sudan’. World Bank, Poverty & Equity Global Practice, Africa. Research Working Paper. (http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/979181507716471876/Reducing-poverty-through-improved-agro-logistics-in-a-fragile-country-findings-from-a-trader-survey-in-South-Sudan)

· Denney, L., Mallett, R. with Benson, M. (2017) ‘Service Delivery and State Capacity: Findings from the Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium’, Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium (SLRC), Overseas Development Institute. Synthesis Report. (https://securelivelihoods.org/publication/service-delivery-and-state-capacity-findings-from-the-secure-livelihoods-research-consortium/)

· van den Boogaard, V., Prichard, W., Milicic, N. and Benson, M. (2016) ‘Revenue Mobilization in Conflict-Affected Developing Countries’. International Centre for Tax and Development and United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER). Working Paper. (https://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/tax-revenue-mobilization-conflict-affected-developing-countries)

· Benson, M. (2016) Paying for Government and Services: 28 States and Revenue. In Aalen, L. and Schomerus, M. (eds.) Considering the State: Perspectives on South Sudan’s Sub-Division and Federalism Debate. London: Overseas Development Institute and the Chr. Michelsen Institute. (https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/resource-documents/10837.pdf)

· Allouche, J., Benson, M. and M’Cormack, F. (2016) ‘Beyond Borders: The End of the Mano River War(s)?’. Institute of Development Studies, Brighton. Evidence Report No. 188. (http://www.ids.ac.uk/publication/beyond-borders-the-end-of-the-mano-river-war-s)

· Benson, M. (2015) ‘Let’s Talk About Tax: Revenue and South Sudan’s Constitution’. Africa in Fact, Issue 32.

· Benson, M. (2007) ‘Insecure Environments: The Missing Piece?’, Forced Migration Review, Issue 29 : p.20-21. (http://www.fmreview.org/FMRpdfs/FMR29/20-21.pdf)

Policy Engagement

· Benson, M. (2022) ‘Transitioning from Taxation without Representation in South Sudan’. Peace and Conflict Evidence Platform (PeaceRep), University of Edinburgh, 2 November 2022. (https://peacerep.org/2022/11/02/from-taxation-without-representation-in-south-sudan-through-civicness/)

· Benson, M. (2022) ‘A History of the Cedi: Dystopian ‘Little Shells’ or a Pathway for a Utopian Ghana?’. Boy Brother Friend. Issue 4. (https://shop.boybrotherfriend.com/product/boy-brother-friend-4-digital-cover)

· Benson, M. and Craze, J. (2021) What Happens When the Oil Runs Out?: Traumatic Decarbonisation in South Sudan. ‘Conflict Zone’ Podcast. Conflict Research Programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science, 17 March 2021. (https://audioboom.com/posts/7824340-what-happens-when-the-oil-runs-out-traumatic-decarbonisation-in-south-sudan)

· Benson, M., Radice, H., Turkmani, R., Ali, Z., Al-Kaisy, A. (2020) Opportunities for Peace and Democracy: Civicness in Conflict Societies. ‘Conflict Zone’ Podcast. Conflict Research Programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science, 11 September. (https://audioboom.com/posts/7680523-opportunities-for-peace-and-democracy-civicness-in-conflict-societies)

· Benson, M. (2020) COVID-19 Rumours as Transcripts of Resistance in South Sudan. Conflict Research Programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science, 18 June. (https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/crp/2020/06/18/covid-19-rumours-as-transcripts-of-resistance-in-south-sudan/)

· Benson, M. (2020) Who is this Government Really? South Sudanese Perspectives on Taxes and Public Authority. Conflict Research Programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science, 14 May. (https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/crp/2020/05/14/south-sudanese-perspectives-on-taxes-and-public-authority/)

· de Waal, A., Boswell, A., Deng, D., Ibreck, R., Benson, M. and Pospisil, J. (2019) ‘South Sudan: The Politics of Delay’. Conflict Research Programme, London School of Economics and Political Science. Policy Memo. (http://www.lse.ac.uk/international-development/Assets/Documents/ccs-research-unit/Conflict-Research-Programme/crp-memos/Politics-of-Delay-South-Sudan-3Dec19.pdf)

· Benson, M. (2011) Making Tax Work in South Sudan. Royal African Society and the Social Science Research Council, 14 November. (http://africanarguments.org/2011/11/14/making-tax-work-in-south-sudan-by-matthew-benson/#_ftn1)

Book Reviews

· Benson, M. (2021) ‘Review of Taxing Africa: Coercion, Reform and Development’ by Mick Moore, Wilson Prichard and Odd-Helge Fjeldstad’. Africa: Journal of the International Africa Institute, Vol. 91, Issue 2. (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/africa/article/mick-moore-wilson-prichard-and-oddhelge-fjeldstad-taxing-africa-coercion-reform-and-development-london-zed-books-hb-70-978-1-78360-454-8-pb-1699-978-1-78360-453-1-2018-288-pp/3EACA128C9CE76868F46B13CF237049A)

· Benson, M. (Issue 55, February 2017) ‘Review of Borders and Borderlands as Political Resources in the Horn of Africa, edited by Dereje Feyissa and Markus Virgil Hoehne’. Journal of Sudan and South Sudan Studies, Sudan Studies Society of the United Kingdom, Book Review.

· Benson, M. (2015) ‘Review of Naseem Badiey’s, The State of Post-Conflict Reconstruction: Land, Urban Development and State-Building in Juba Southern Sudan’. Journal of Sudan and South Sudan Studies, Sudan Studies Society of the United Kingdom. Issue 52.

Dr Matthew Benson is Sudans Research Director and the Research Manager for LSE’s contribution to the PeaceRep consortium

Raga Makawi is the Sudan Researcher and Research Coordinator

Hannah Logan is the South Sudan Research Assistant and Research Coordinator

The Bridge Network South Sudan is a South Sudanese research network working throughout South Sudan (https://www.bridgenetwork.online/)

PeaceRep's Sudans Programme

PeaceRep Sudans Research addresses understudied topics such as:

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