Abstract

A panel discussion and documentary screening on South Sudan with: Majak D’Agoot (former Deputy Minister of Defence) Peter Biar Ajak (POLIS Phd student) Sharath Srinivasan (Director, CGHR - Chair)

Majak D’Agoot, former deputy minister of defence (and former deputy director of national intelligence and security services in the ‘old’ Sudan) argues that South Sudan will never be stable, nor will the state and new polity form, with a ‘gun class’ in charge. The current ruling elites, both in government and opposition, need to be replaced. But how, and by whom?

Majak D’Agoot is part of the Group of Ten (G10), a group of senior political leaders who fell out with the ruling SPLM under President Kiir, but also did not join the rebellion that began in late 2013 under Vice President Riek Machar. Out of power and out of the power plays over political control that depend on guns, some in his group have been advocating for versions of ‘neo-trusteeship’ for South Sudan. Would this work and what would it mean?

Peter Biar Ajak is a PhD student in POLIS , working on state formation in South Sudan and the legacies of the SPLA ’s practice of politics during the war. He is also founder of South Sudan Wrestling Entertainment, which is a non-profit organisation that uses the traditional sport of wrestling to promote peace and reconciliation among the tribes of South Sudan.