Focus on South-Sudan:- How can South Sudan avoid becoming a playground for regional rivalries (Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya)?
South Sudan’s geostrategic location — bordering Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, DRC, and CAR — gives it enormous potential but also makes it highly vulnerable to regional rivalries. Rival states often seek influence through security, economic, or political channels. Avoiding being a “playground” for these rivalries requires deliberate domestic, regional, and diplomatic strategies.

1. Strengthen Internal Governance and National Cohesion

Reduce factionalism: Implement reforms that move power-sharing from elite-centric deals to functional, transparent institutions.

Build inclusive institutions: Incorporate civil society, women, youth, and local communities into governance, so external actors cannot exploit domestic divisions.

Economic independence: Diversify the economy beyond oil, invest in agriculture, mining, and regional trade corridors to reduce dependence on foreign funding or subsidies.

Unified security forces: Integrate rival militias into a professional national army and police, reducing the leverage external actors can wield over armed factions.

Why it matters: Weak internal governance makes South Sudan ripe for external influence; strong cohesion reduces this vulnerability.

2. Balanced Regional Diplomacy

Multi-vector foreign policy: Avoid over-reliance on any single neighbor. Maintain diplomatic ties with Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, and beyond.

Regional forums leverage: Actively use IGAD and AU mechanisms to mediate disputes and resolve cross-border tensions.

Strategic alliances without dependence: Negotiate mutually beneficial agreements on trade, energy, and security but preserve decision-making autonomy.

Example: Uganda has historically intervened militarily in South Sudan; balancing diplomacy with Kenya, Ethiopia, and Sudan reduces the perception that South Sudan is a proxy battleground.

3. Regional Trade and Economic Integration

EAC & AfCFTA participation: By embedding South Sudan in regional economic frameworks, its neighbors have incentives to support stability rather than intervene militarily.

Cross-border infrastructure: Shared roads, bridges, and ports create interdependence that discourages unilateral interference.

Diversified export routes: Reduce dependence on pipelines through Sudan by exploring options via Kenya (Lamu–Juba corridor) or Ethiopia, decreasing leverage from a single neighbor.

4. Conflict Prevention Mechanisms

Border management: Establish joint commissions for border security, resource disputes, and migration management.

Early warning & rapid response: Utilize IGAD’s and AU’s monitoring systems to prevent escalation of cross-border tensions.

Community-level peacebuilding: Invest in local reconciliation programs in border regions where ethnic groups span multiple countries.

5. Strategic Use of International Partners

UN and AU missions: Leverage peacekeeping, monitoring, and mediation to act as neutral buffers between South Sudan and regional interventions.

Targeted aid and development programs: Accept regional and international support in ways that build state capacity rather than fund factional elites.

6. Promote National Identity Over Ethnic/Regional Affiliations

Strengthen symbols of unity (language, education, civic initiatives) to reduce the likelihood that external actors can exploit internal divisions.

Encourage national media and civil society campaigns emphasizing “South Sudanese first,” decreasing susceptibility to external narratives.

Key Takeaways
Strategy and Goal
Internal cohesion & security reform- Limit domestic factional leverage for foreign actors.

Balanced diplomacy- Avoid dependence on any single neighbor

Regional trade integration- Align neighbor interests with South Sudan’s stability

Conflict prevention mechanisms- Reduce risk of cross-border escalation

International partnerships- Neutral buffers and development without elite capture

Nation-building- Reduce ethnic/tribal fractures exploited externally

Bottom line: South Sudan avoids becoming a playground for regional rivalries by strengthening its internal institutions, diversifying its economy, engaging multiple neighbors diplomatically, and embedding itself in regional trade and security frameworks.

No protest against Hamas is unfair because they caused the situation in Gaza.

It's understandable why people feel that a lack of protest specifically targeting Hamas is unfair, given their role in initiating the October 7th attacks, which were a direct catalyst for the current devastating situation in Gaza. Many international observers and governments hold Hamas responsible for these actions and their consequences.

The perspective that Hamas's tactics, including the killing and kidnapping of civilians, are acts of terrorism that provoked the Israeli invasion is a significant part of the discourse surrounding the conflict. From this viewpoint, accountability for the ensuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza should heavily focus on the group that triggered the immediate escalation.

When considering why some protest movements focus more on Israel's actions, it's important to recall the multifaceted reasons discussed earlier:

Focus on State Accountability: International law and activism often differentiate between state and non-state actors, with a particular emphasis on the responsibilities of recognized states in armed conflict, especially those with significantly greater military power and which receive support from the protestors' own governments.

Scale and Nature of Response: Many protests are driven by the sheer scale of Palestinian casualties and the humanitarian catastrophe resulting from Israel's military operations. Protestors often focus on the party whose actions are currently causing widespread civilian suffering and destruction, irrespective of the initial provocation.

Pre-existing Conditions: Some activists and observers point to the long-standing blockade of Gaza, the ongoing occupation, and the broader history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as crucial context. They argue that these conditions contributed to the desperation and radicalization that fueled Hamas's actions and that addressing the root causes is paramount.

Influence and Complicity: Protestors in Western countries often feel a particular responsibility to scrutinize and challenge the actions of Israel because their own governments are often close allies of Israel, providing military aid and political support. They may believe they have more leverage to influence their own government's policies towards Israel than towards Hamas.

Ultimately, the targets of protests often reflect a group's specific analysis of where the primary responsibility lies for the issues they are most concerned about, or where they believe their advocacy can be most effective. While you see the lack of focus on Hamas as unfair due to their direct role in instigating the current crisis, others may prioritize challenging the response to that instigation, particularly when it comes from a recognized state actor and results in widespread civilian impact.

Both perspectives highlight different facets of a deeply complex and tragic conflict where accountability and the path to a just resolution are subjects of intense debate.


By Jo Ikeji-Uju
https://afriprime.net/pages/Anything

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Israel fights Hamas deep in Gaza City.
The Israeli army says its forces are battling Hamas fighters inside Gaza’s largest city, signaling a major new stage a month into a war that has claimed thousands of lives and leveled swaths of the territory. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is likely to maintain control of security in Gaza once Hamas is defeated. The move into Gaza City risks a further escalation in casualties one month into the war.