The ROOT CAUSES OF SUDAN’S CIVIL WARS
Douglas H Johnson

DEGREES IN VIOLENCE
Robert Mugabe and the struggle for power in Zimbabwe
David Blair

GROWING THE SHELTERING TREE
Protecting rights through humanitarian action
Inter-Agency Standing Committee
UNICEF, 2002

The ROOT CAUSES OF SUDAN’S CIVIL WARS
Gouglas H Johnson
The International African Institute,
African Issues Series, 2003

Root causes are popular in discussions on human rights and security matters. While symptoms and results can be identified and listed, they are not at the heart of the solution. Far better, some argue, to treat the root causes of the problem, than to work endlessly trying, often ineffectually, to treat the symptoms of conflict.

Much of the humanitarian work done in Sudan recently has aimed at treating the symptoms of “Africa’s longest and most intractable conflict”. Medical supplies, feeding schemes, education assistance and refugee housing are the most common sorts. The root causes, often obscure and always complex, remain to be addressed at some future date.

Johnson’s book, part of the respected “African Issues” series, attempts to look beyond, or behind, the current conflict to find the key to solving Sudan’s evolving wars. Johnson refers to the “international amnesia” which afflicts diplomats, journalists and human rights workers who are involved in the conflict with only a vague apprehension of its source. The reason so many are ignorant, or confused about them is because there is, as yet, very little consensus on what the root causes are.

The main part of the book is prefaced with some very useful comments about ‘tribes’; religions; and cultures, which, if misunderstood, only serve to complicate the matter further. One example, as Johnson explains, is that the Dinka are a people (not a tribe), who are organised into changing numbers of different tribes. The points are well made and should go a long way to improving other writing on Sudan.

After a brief chapter on the historical structure, Johnson proceeds chronologically through British rule, nationalism, and independence until he reaches more recent events. The book then turns to the patterns and themes that emerge from the past and continue to shape the conflict today. The “Momentum of Liberation” is the first part of the second section and sets the scene for the action of the 1990s and beyond. The interlude that the author has chosen helps to emphasise that the conflict changed significantly at this point. The peace brought by the negotiations in 1972 lasted 11 years. The second civil war started not only because of a failure to implement parts of the agreement, but also because the agreement failed to resolve certain issues. This explains the unwillingness of those in Southern Sudan today to simply return to the regional autonomy arrangements of 1972.

One new factor in the second civil war was the discovery of oil in Southern Sudan after the 1972 Addis Ababa agreements had been signed. The struggle to control and exploit this resource intensified the violence of the war in the 1980s and 19990s. Johnson’s explanation of the various leadership splits, political conferences and military offences is full of detail and carefully follows the shifts in power in Khartoum, neighbouring Ethiopia and in the leadership of the South. Occasionally other actors are introduced, their role explained and their motives questioned. Without trying to be definitive, the book succeeds in flagging, at least, all the important events and critical policy decisions.

To simplify matters, Johnson lists ten historical factors that he believes have produced Sudan’s recurring civil wars. Most of these are already well-known (inequality, militant religions, imperial preferences) while others are fast becoming well-known: foreign interest in natural resources, and the failure to obtain a national consensus concerning the balance of power in both the North and South.

Also helpful, is Johnson’s argument that, whatever the outcome in Sudan, many prickly problems of general development remain to be addressed. “Do relief programmes shorten or prolong conflict?” is one of those asked by Johnson. The answer to this and other questions is given in chapter 10: The war economy and the politics of relief. The discussion on neutrality, slavery and oil exploitation gives no clear answers but does seem to suggest that the current arrangement is far from satisfactory. UN and NGO officials need to rethink the benefits of obeying the restrictions on aid supply imposed by the North.

The bibliographical essay, and the chronology (1972 to September 2002) are bound to be useful tools for both serious researchers and curious aid workers. All told, this volume seems a likely candidate for the most up-to-date reference on the Sudan conflict and will probably influence future writing.

DEGREES IN VIOLENCE
Robert Mugabe and the struggle for power in Zimbabwe
David Blair
Continuum, 2002

Events in Zimbabwe since February 2000 have prompted a number of journalists to write about their experiences. Like so many other accounts, Blair’s book ends with his expulsion from the country. But while Blair’s stay in Harare has ended, the forces that have caused such tumult continue. Blair’s book, which ends in December 2001, leaves the reader with a strong feeling that the main act is still to come. Perhaps he will return to finish his “political drama”.

Blair describes himself as a spectator of events since President Mugabe lost the February 2000 referendum. The aim of the book is to give an account of President Mugabe’s vicious struggle to hold onto power as it appeared to a journalist. This book is not a based on academic study with reference to official sources. The facts are presented as they were found: during interviews, on the streets, or from journalist colleagues. The analysis of events and decisions is clear and confidently written. Whether this is correct will only become clear with time.

The account of Zimbabwe since 1980 is inevitable. The optimism and promise of independence in 1980 are a poignant start and contrast strongly with the current violence. The details of President Mugabe’s political career are sparse and the focus is on Mugabe’s stated intentions when he came to power: to ensure a place for everyone in Zimbabwe.

“Cobras in the house”, Chapter two, deals with the period from 1981 to 1999. The most important events and trends are described but the tone is one of impending doom. Each setback appears worse than the last, every change another step on the downward spiral. Some of this appears a little exaggerated and seems calculated to ensure that the reader is ready for the more violent chapters that follow.

On firmer ground in chapter three, Blair accurately describes how economic mismanagement is as much to blame for the current crisis as any of the other matters raised. There is some dispute in media reports with some claiming that it’s all about land while others focus on political accountability and other still on broader concepts of societal change since colonialism and independence. The figures are convincing; the trends alarming.

While President Mugabe remains a central figure throughout the book, the MDC and Morgan Tsvangirai slowly make their way to the central stage. The beginning of April 2000 saw the start of Zanu-PF’s increasingly violent pronouncements on the opposition: the MDC. Newspaper reports, party statements and speeches at rallies are all documented and quoted by Blair. Many of the incidents seem small and inconsequential on their own but taken together, as Blair explains, they add up to a serious threat to the democratic process in Zimbabwe.

All players in Zimbabwe have acknowledged the urgent need for Land reform. Blair explains how President Mugabe and Zanu-PF have sadly not helped many ordinary Zimbabweans own their own land. In a country where thousands of people could be helped to own their own land, Blair describes how the ruling party uses the land issue as a cover for their own attempts to hold onto power despite growing opposition. The stories of farm workers vainly attempting to work the land with virtually no resources or help from the government give the reader an insight into how complicated any resolution of the land issue is bound to be.

The chapter titled “Repression” covers the period from January to June 2001 when it became embarrassingly clear to those who had stood by President Mugabe that his intentions were not what they had appeared to be. The statements by Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, with whom the author evidently had regular contact, give some insight into the thinking of the government at the time. Much of the violence reported by the international and independent local media is simply denied or explained away as unimportant or unconnected.

“The wheels come off” the final chapter covering June to December 2001, recounts the turmoil of the author’s last days in Zimbabwe. Indeed, this book might not have been written had the author still been covering the story instead of being told to leave. The personal experiences of the author come to the fore in this part, but the glimpses of the wider situation are just as gloomy. Though parts of the media in Zimbabwe remain committed to following an independent line, much of the news coming out of Zimbabwe is directed by the state. Books like Blair’s will continue to provide much-needed first-hand accounts of how ordinary Zimbabweans are affected by President Mugabe’s struggle to retain power after 22 years of rule.

GROWING THE SHELTERING TREE
Protecting rights through
humanitarian action
Inter-Agency Standing Committee
UNICEF, 2002

Though it is easy to be cynical about the global industry that follows humanitarian relief operations from crisis to crisis, the people on the receiving end often have genuine reasons to be grateful. The flaws in the system are obvious: a well-organised supply chain is formed (and funded) to feed people, but not to protect them from attack. This book refers to this problem as the ‘protection gap’. Aid workers in the field need the help of other organisations who can address the primary cause of the suffering and help prevent further violations.

After many years in the field, UNICEF, the ICRC and other similar agencies have compiled this book that contains their suggestions of practices and programmes that have worked well in the past and should be referred to in future interventions. It provides new ideas for tackling old problems and questions some practices that may have outgrown their usefulness. The use of sport and music, along with creative ideas about providing nutrition or finding refugees are just some examples.

The first section identifies three types of protection activities: responsive action, remedial action and environment-building action. This sort of conceptual clarity may be difficult to maintain during a complex emergency but it can certainly help during planning and identifying which organisations are best suited to which sorts of action.

The “modes of action in protection” section is more practical. Listing the advantages and disadvantages of both denunciation and persuasion is bound to help organisation be more effective and make more efficient use if their resources. Denunciation, suitable when violations are deliberate, is less useful when authorities can restrict access to the victims. Once a priority has been chosen, the correct mode of action can be chosen.

Chapter two introduces ways that operations can initiate an integrated approach to humanitarian action and protection. By combining the efforts of education programmes, feeding schemes and health promotion, a community can be helped more effectively. Expatriates can, for example, live together with those under threat, or workers could increase their presence in isolated areas to prevent violations. When all else fails, stay put, or as this book puts it: “Continued Presence When All Around Is Descending Into Chaos Offers Moral Support To Civilians And Helps Allay Fears Of Total Abandonment”. The May 2000 rebel advance in Freetown, Sierra Leone is offered as an example.

During conflict, promoting a focus on individual rights contrasts strongly with the rights of groups. When one groups seeks to dominate or control another, the individual civilian is usually subsumed within his or her own group. Codes of conduct, ground rules and agreements between parties prior to a conflict can help reduce the eventual destruction. The awareness of international law or the Geneva conventions can persuade combatants to avoid unnecessary harm toward women and children. Much depends however on whether potential perpetrators of abuses believe that the international law will ever be applied and prosecuted.

The fourth section on life, health and dignity offers practical advice on reuniting families, helping the aged, documenting sexual abuse and even avoiding sniper-fire. Long queues of people waiting for water in Bosnia and Herzegovina were vulnerable to sniper and artillery fire until water supply to their homes was restored. The ICRC is often involved in assisting hostages but only at the price of neutrality between the captors and the victims. By forfeiting their involvement in negotiations, the ICRC is allowed to continue with its humanitarian work.

Specific groups, such as women and children, are the focus of chapter five. Perversely, much of the food destined for women is diverted by power structures that may still be controlled by men. Women are often responsible for feeding children in their communities and may need to be given a family portion of food or blankets to achieve the full benefit of the aid. Children, a well-recognised special group often need special protection to ensure that they receive education or to prevent their forced recruitment into an army.

Once a conflict is over, remedial action, the subject of chapter six, is essential to prevent further problems. Truth commissions, such as those in South Africa or Sierra Leone, or international tribunals such as the one in Rwanda can help communities rebuild and strengthen their justice and policing systems.

The numerous pictures and international examples emphasise that the strategies recommended by this book have been tested during real conflict emergencies. The prevarication of multilateral structures such as the UN and the African Union during sudden humanitarian crises means that many aid workers in Africa will continue to find themselves supplying aid alongside processes that address the root causes. Books such as this one, which promote an understanding of both relief operations and those processes that hold governments and individuals accountable for their actions, are to be welcomed.