The Politics of Fear in South Sudan: Generating Chaos, Creating Conflict

When asked in 2016 if he would step down as President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir replied 'my exit could spark genocide.' Kiir's words exemplify how fear and the threat of mass violence have become central to the politics of South Sudan. As South Sudanese analyst Daniel Akech Thiong shows, it is this politics that lies at the heart of the country's seemingly intractable civil war.

In this book, Akech Thiong explores the origins of South Sudan's politics of fear. Weaving together social, econo...