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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | The Problem of Centralization in the Sudan |
Author: | Duany, Wal |
Year: | 1994 |
Periodical: | Northeast African Studies |
Volume: | 1 |
Issue: | 2-3 |
Pages: | 75-102 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Sudan |
Subjects: | nation building Politics and Government Economics and Trade |
External link: | http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/northeast_african_studies/v001/1.2-3.duany.pdf |
Abstract: | According to the conception of sovereign State, each State is presumed to be exclusively responsible for governing affairs within its own borders. Resistance to the State by ethnic groups living in the southern Sudan is not only a rejection of Islam's tutelage but also an indication of differences in conceptions of governance. The hierarchical institutional arrangements associated with a sovereign State are not consistent with the conceptions of governance of a majority of the language groups in the Sudan. These disparate language communities rely on very different principles for the constitution of social and political relationships. This issue is discussed in the first section of this paper. Next, the fundamental precepts common to all language communities in the Sudan are considered. A common idea of one God is important when conceptualizing the design of the Sudanese political system. However, this key idea of God as a common source of creation is not sufficient. It is also necessary to consider some general structure of ideas which may serve as a theory of design for the constitution of a polity that takes diverse communities and individuals into account. These ideas are described in the final section, which also stresses the importance of creating an institutionalized national conference to periodically consider basic constitutional matters and monitor the performance of the nation's institutions. Bibliogr., notes, ref. |