South Sudan: Expectation and Reality

My colleague and fellow blogger Alex Thurston has a blogosphere rundown of commentary and stories on the South Sudan, the world's newest nation. Expectations are understandably high (perhaps impossibly so) for the South to "deliver the goods" to its citizens, and to flex its autonomy, but the reality is that the South and the North will HAVE to work together for the benefit of their respective futures, at least until the South Sudanese government builds oil pipelines eastward across Ethiopia and Kenya. Over at African Arguments, Naomi Pendle reports on attitudes in Warrap State in South Sudan.

As far as attitudes in the North, I would recommend that everyone check out this documentary "Fight for the Soul of the North" on the future of the state and civil society in North Sudan. The picture is grim, and the North will require wise leadership if they want to prevent the complete collapse of the state.