Sudan, South Sudan, and Darfur: What Everyone Needs to Know [Paperback]

Andrew S. Natsios (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 23, 2012 | Series: What Everyone Needs to Know

For thirty years Sudan has been a country in crisis, wracked by near-constant warfare between the north and the south. But on July 9, 2011, South Sudan became an independent nation. As Sudan once again finds itself the focus of international attention, former special envoy to Sudan and director of USAID Andrew Natsios provides a timely introduction to the country at this pivotal moment in its history. Focusing on the events of the last 25 years, Natsios sheds light on the origins of the conflict between northern and southern Sudan and the complicated politics of this volatile nation. He gives readers a first-hand view of Sudan's past as well as an honest appraisal of its future. In the wake of South Sudan's independence, Natsios explores the tensions that remain on both sides. Issues of citizenship, security, oil management, and wealth-sharing all remain unresolved. Human rights issues, particularly surrounding the ongoing violence in Darfur, likewise still clamor for solutions. Informative and accessible, this book introduces readers to the most central issues facing Sudan as it stands on the brink of historic change.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Natsios provides a clear and dispassionate general introduction to the country's history and politics, designed for the lay reader ... The book's main achievement, though, is to succinctly explain Sudan's history of conflict and violence. Nicolas van de Walle, Foreign Affairs an enlightening first port of call for those who wish to know more about this region. Andrew S. Natsios, Times Literary Supplement

About the Author

Andrew S. Natsios served as Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development from 2001 to 2005, where he was appointed as Special Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan. He also served as Special Envoy to Sudan from October 2006 to December 2007. He is currently Executive Professor at the George H.W. Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A and M University and a Brent Scowcroft Fellow. Natsios is the author of two previous books, U.S. Foreign Policy and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and The Great North Korean Famine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (March 23, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199764190
• ISBN-13: 978-0199764198
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #582,183 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #62 in Books > History > Africa > Sudan

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Better than the other reviews June 18, 2012

By Hulagu Khan

Format:Paperback

Somewhat superficial given the extremely complex nature of the issues, it is a better book than some of these critics - who seem to have their own axes to grind - give it credit for. Natsios does know the players and the issues and has some important things to say about a volatile part of Africa.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great back ground of conflicts in Sudan December 31, 2012

By Alan Viets

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Very informative! The different Muslim persuasions involved were unknown to me. Other historical influences were also important to understand. The author seems to have been a real insider.

9 of 15 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars cliff notes on sudan for neoconservatives April 23, 2012

By Mark bennett

Format:Paperback

Andrew Natsios was a big supporter in the Bush Administration of the war in Iraq. He was rather infamous at one point for claiming the entire US spending for reconstruction in Iraq would be 1.7 billion.

Like many of his kind, he sees the dismemberment and transformation of Sudan into a series of American client states as an important priority. The book is basically a primer that distills Sudan's complicated history down to a compact form representing one point of view. Its organized in the form of what looks like talking points - question and answer - for all aspects of all conflicts in Sudan.

His views on the capabilities and history of the SPLA (south sudan) border on the delusional. He far overrates them and the army of southern sudan that followed them. He makes a case late in the book that outsiders (i.e. the US) should pour weapons into South Sudan to help maintain what he considers a balance of power but would in fact be the opposite. He also highlights the lack of air power in the south which is probably a backhanded call to give them (or rent them) an air force. He also brags about his personal role during the Bush administration of establishing ties between South Sudan and the US military.

He claims at another point that South Sudan could become the african equivilent of an "asian tiger". His theory is based in part on a theory that Singapore prospered because it was threated by China under Mao.

Reading between the lines, the long-term plan is to equip the South Sudan army with enough weapons to allow it to go to war with Sudan and/or sponsor an insurgency within Sudan that will bring down its government.

It gets two stars because it does provide a peek behind the curtain into what these people are thinking and their motivations.