Customer Reviews

Root Causes of Sudan's Civil Wars (African Issues)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After reading this book, you will laugh at newspaper reports that describe the conflict in Sudan as between "the Muslim north and Christian and animist south". Johnson not only has extensive academic publications in Sudanese ethnography and historiography, but also worked in the aid field in the country. He is also, in a well-sourced, calm and clearly presented manner, outraged at how thoroughly misunderstood the situation in Sudan is. The detail in this book is amazing. I consider myself fairly knowledgeable in an armchair kind of way about southern Sudan, and was consistently being presented with either facts of which I was unaware or, better yet, syntheses tying together various fields in a historical perspective. The offensives, famines, factionalism within southern groups, agricultural schemes, external mediators, forced displacement patterns, and competing aid agencies are all here, and presented so one can see the linkages. This is one of the rare books in which, for example, the connection between the timing of government offensives to seasonal rainfall is convincingly fit within framework of underdevelopment as a political strategy.

There are a couple points that made me consider moving this down to four stars. One is that Johnson is clearly partisan to the south. He is not fatally so in my opinion, describing some very unflattering characteristics and actions of Garang's faction, and making his bias clear from the beginning. By the end of the book, he also makes a strong case that "neutrality" has been misused or abused in the context of the Sudanese wars, and led me to muse that his outrage seems to spring from his knowledge, versus some writers about southern Sudan whose outrage impedes their learning. I also occasionally found the division of the book in its latter section into thematic sections confusing, especially in cases where the text would refer to later chapters for more information about a mentioned event or process. Fortunately, the appendix includes both a detailed chronology from 1972 through 2001 and a pretty good topical index for when I needed a bit of help orienting myself. The extensive annotated bibliography would be quite useful for some people. There is also the rather obvious issue that the book was written prior to the finalization of the peace agreement and death of Garang, which makes me anxious for an update.

Bottom line: If you want to know about the conflicts in Sudan between 1983 and 2001, then this is the book. If you've read other works on Sudan, you'll be astonished at how thoroughly Johnson annihilates the common wisdom. And whoever you are, you may come to share some of Johnson's outrage.

An intriguing book that adopts a new slant on the development of Islam in the Sudan. Author Johnson shows us, step by step how the rise of states in this region and their relations with neighbors and the West resulted in a different form of religious expression. The Dervishes that fought the British at the end of the 19th century were imbued with a fervor, according to Johnson that reflected a long-developed process of assimilation and adaptation to both the Northern Arab, the Southern African and he West in general - the colonial experience. It is a fine addition to Francis Deng's great book, WAR OF VISIONS. I found THE ROOT CAUSES OF SUDAN'S CIVIL WARS a very enlightening read. As the author of a new book on the Sudan, JIHAD: THE MAHDI REBELLION IN THE SUDAN, I must include this volume into any meaningful understanding of historical forces in this region. TOP RATED!!!

If you are an expert on Sudan, or know quite a bit already, this book may be 4-star book. If you are only a beginner, who knows little, this book is probably not for you, and you would only get "two stars" out of it. For those not so well-versed, I recommend Jok Madut Jok's book on "Sudan, Race ,Religion and Violence." Douglas Johnson's book is written with the assumption that its audience has some familiarity with Sudan already. All others will get quickly lost in the details of the Sudanese conflict, which are quite extensively (if not exhaustively) presented. The writing can tend to be very academic and dry in parts, but the patient reader will glean some real gems of wisdom - or perhaps I should say hot coals of horror - for the intolerance and blindness which has helped perpetuate this conflict really staggers the mind of all people accustomed to peace and tolerance in a democratic society. This work goes to show that unfortunately most people do not have that experience, as the people in Sudan are locked in a conflict that is "racist" and "religion-ist", while they struggle to lift themselves out of poverty. Again experts or those avid or patient enough will get a lot out of Johnson's book - but the reading will not be easy, especially if you have no real prior knowledge of the Sudanese conflict.

This book is for both beginners and experts. It has a complete view of the history of Sudan as well as the conflicts that is causing the several wars in different regions in the Sudan. The book explains the political, economic, culture, and ethnics in the Sudan.