The State of Post-conflict Reconstruction: Land, Urban Development and State-building in Juba, Southern Sudan (Eastern Africa Series, 22)

Review

What Badiey has produced is more than simply a more nuanced portrayal of Southern Sudan-though she does this too-and an excellent contribution to the literature on South Sudan. This book enters into a discussion about post-conflict state-building that has been going on across the region for a long time. ― SUDAN STUDIES ASSOCIATIONA valuable book for those who want to understand the contemporary dynamics of land issues and reconstruction at large especially in the African context. ― AFRICAN AFFAIRS[A] refreshing reminder to the aid community about how 'experts' and topdown planners can fail abysmally if they fail to pay attention to the local dynamics of an area. Recommended. ― CHOICE

From the Back Cover

'a timely and important contribution to and on Sudanese Studies' - Professor Guma Komey, University of Bahri, Khartoum'an important contribution to the field of South Sudanese studies, and to the literature on state formation and post-conflict reconstruction in Africa. ... By grounding the analysis in the local struggles over land in a capital city, the author is able to demonstrate the multi-layered relations and dynamics on which national and international initiatives are ultimately contingent.' - Dr Cherry Leonardi, University of Durham, UKNaseem Badiey examines the local dynamics of the emerging capital city of Juba, Southern Sudan, during the historically pivotal transition period following the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). Focusing on the intersections of land tenure reform and urban development, she challenges the dominant paradigm of 'post-conflict reconstruction' and re-conceptualizes state-building as a social process underpinned by negotiation. Badiey explores local resistance to reconstruction programmes, debates over the interpretation of peace settlements, and competing claims to land and resources, not as problems to be solved through interventions but as negotiations of authority which were fundamental to shaping the character of the 'state'. While donors and aid agency officials anticipated clashes between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in Southern Sudan, they did not anticipate that internal divisions might stymie reconstruction, raising serious questions about the viability of an independent Southern state. Naseem Badiey is Assistant Professor of International Development and Humanitarian Action at California State University Monterey Bay.