International Business

International Business



International Business

Issue Or Situation

Since oil was discovered in Sudan in the early eighties. and it was discovered that the country may be sitting on 1% of the world's oil reserves, some analysts claimed that the control of this resource became a root cause of the on-going conflict in the country. The existence of oil reserves and a rejuvenated oil industry is certainly an important factor which plays a large role in the war, but it should not be misunderstood as a root cause of the conflict. The oil industry appears, however, to be an element which perpetuates conflict in the country, and provides less incentive for a negotiated settlements.

The Legacy of Colonialism

To understand the current situation in Sudan, it is necessary to briefly look at the colonial legacy which entrenched Northerners in the state apparatus and left the South virtually undeveloped. Sudan was under Anglo-Egyptian rule between 1898 and 1956, and, during, that time, the colonial economic policies concentrated investment between the two Niles (see Fig. 1). Large areas of real estate were reserved for the religious aristocracy by colonial authorities, in addition to agricultural land and government contracts, all in an attempt to protect the interests of sectarian families. Development throughout the country was uneven and the South was treated as a "closed district," particularly in the 1930s and 1940s when the British barred travel to the South by Northerners without a permit. Southerners had little voice in the running of the country, with no public participation to speak of. This legacy created a situation of elite domination in which the Northern elite would go to great lengths to protect their power and position.

Elite Domination

After independence from colonial rule in 1956, much of the open conflict which broke out between groups in the North and South was the result of the North striving to exert its dominance over the South. Those in the South were fighting against political marginalisation, economic neglect and cultural domination. While efforts on the part of the North to Arabicise and Islamise the South began at independence, these strategies had more to do with ensuring control over the various groups in the country than religious zealotry. A brief respite in the fighting occurred in 1972 with the Addis Ababa peace agreement, which allowed the South to have an elected regional assembly, making it an island of democracy within the autocratic Sudanese state. This autonomy disturbed the internal stability of the regime and denied Khartoum immediate control over, or easy access to, the South's mineral and oil wealth. This became problematic for the North as the nation's economic crisis deepened. As a result, the Northern powers attempted to redraw the borders between North and South, which was unsuccessful, and subsequently created a new province, removing the oilfields altogether from Southern jurisdiction.

From Elite Domination to Holy War

The civil war was re-launched in 1983 when the GOS imposed Sharia law on the whole country, which was unacceptable to many in the ...