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The background for the "Dynamics of state failure and violence" project was South Sudan's independence on 9 July 2011, making it the 54th state in Africa. Norway has for several decades been engaged in finding a durable solution to the conflicts that has ravaged Sudan (including the part that is now South Sudan). Knowledge production and dissemination has contributed to this effort. This research project can be seen as a part of this commitment. The research on South Sudan has focused on examining the background for the state formation, but project contributors has also shed light on important historical developments and events as part of the new nation's history. In addition to this work, the project has engendered collective efforts to understand processes related to governance, violence and conflict in South Sudan's neighbourhood, i.e. the East African and the Horn of Africa region. Project results include a book "A History of South Sudan". It shows how historical circumstances gave rise to the idea of a South Sudan as an independent political entity and, subsequently, how the political and institutional basis for the country's secession was established. The book combines new research of the period between 1948-83, with summaries of the scattered and diverse literature on South Sudan. It provides a foundation for further research on South Sudan's political history, while also providing an introduction to the subject for non-academics. Furthermore, the project has also produced focused studies: - A PhD thesis on youth mobilization in the Greater Upper Nile Region from the mid-1970s until today (in progress) - The development of governance in South Sudan in the decade after 1956 (Sudan's independence) - The relationship between civilians and the military, including a micro-history of the Torit-district during the first civil war (to be concluded in 2017) - Militia formation during the second civil war The outbreak of a new civil war in 2013 made the project depressingly particularly timely and relevant to ongoing developments, and it demanded some adjustment of focus. Resources were spent on examining and explaining the outbreak of war, and to analyse the course of the conflict and peace negotiations efforts. This resulted in two articles, a blog and a series of lectures and media contributions. The results of the regional comparative study of violence and state failure in East Africa and the Horn of Africa are mainly collected in two special editions of the academic journals "Journal of Eastern African Studies (4, 2014) and "International Journal of African Historical Studies ( 1, 2015)". Collectively, the contributors to these special editions provide in-depth insights into the dynamics between politics and violence in the region's more recent history. Crucial to this context is the rediscovery of several smaller and forgotten conflicts which we now see in a new light. Unlike much of the existing research on violence and civil wars in the third world, project contributors have focused on what role the state apparatus and allied militia groups play in instigating and escalating conflicts. David Anderson (University of Warwick) has led a historical, in-depth sub-project focused on studying the border-areas between Kenya and Somalia, which has resulted in several strong academic publications and inputs to policy processes. The project period ran from January 2012 until December 2016, with support from the Norwegian Research Council's FRIPRO-Program. A wide network of Norwegian and foreign researchers from three continents have contributed to the project under the leadership of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and Senior Researcher, Øystein H. Rolandsen. To build such a network of researchers was a key element of the project effort, as well as to contribute to setting an agenda for further research. This was achieved by arranging four academic conferences in Oslo, Durham, Oxford and Nairobi, as well as putting together five thematic panels as part of larger international conferences. Research dissemination and debate have also been central to the project's agenda, particularly for members of the core group, Rolandsen, Anderson, and Will Reno (Northwestern University) who have conducted seminars, debates and meetings in Norway, Europe, US and in South Sudan.

Contemporary African history remains a neglected field. South Sudan history is particularly obscure -- partly because war and poverty have hindered empirical academic research, but also because history is yet another battlefield where facts and impassiona te analyses are in short supply. South Sudan is war-torn and located in a turbulent corner of Africa with unpredictable regional politics and global changes constantly affecting events, processes and structures at the domestic scene. The Norwegian governm ent and aid organisations have a long-standing engagement with the two Sudans. On 9 July 2011, South Sudan is scheduled to become an independent country. Academic knowledge and balanced analyses of recent history is required when building a new nation and a new state. The project addresses this gap and will significantly improve our empirical knowledge and understanding of South Sudan's history since 1955. The dynamic interchange between governance and political violence will be given special attention wh ere also the lived experiences ordinary men and women will be included. This will aid the South Sudanese in developing a repository of facts and insight into the new country's recent history. Thus the residual drivers of conflict and requirements for peac e can be identified. Investigation into the comparable cases within Eastern African and the Horn of Africa are a part of the research concept. This provides context for South Sudan's recent history and a more comprehensive understanding of governance and violence in Africa. The project is a collaborative effort among a team of researchers applying a multi-disciplinary and comparative approach using a wide range of sources and methodologies. The results of the project are measured in the academic quality a nd dissemination of its key outputs: publication of one monograph and one special issue/edited volume, and the submission of one PhD dissertation. http://www.prio.no/Research-and-Publications/Project/?oid=1157110