Pandemic Cleavages: Covid-19 and the South Sudanese Peace Process

About: Roughly 15 months into the Covid-19 pandemic, it now becomes possible to analyse the impact the pandemic shock had on peace processes globally and assess its mid- and long-term consequences. This briefing investigates the case study of South Sudan, where the pandemic correlated with a significant upsurge in violence at the sub-national level. The briefing follows up on an expert perception survey on the impact of Covid-19 on peace processes, conducted by the Political Settlements Research Programme (PSRP) in May 2020. The survey generated 18 responses from South Sudan on 20 questions related to the impact of the pandemic. This briefing further incorporates findings from a population perception survey by the Institute of Social Policay and Research from November 2020 and a series of expert interviews with stakeholders and observers of the South Sudanese peace process conducted in Juba from March to May 2021.