South Sudan Fragility

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South Sudan is, to put it simply, a toddler. It is unstable, somewhat unpredictable, and most importantly young. Consider the fact that the country we live in, the United States of America, is over two centuries old. It is then not too hard to imagine why a country only about three years old would be considered the most fragile nation in the world. It is not only South Sudan's infantilism that has led to this fragility. In South Sudan's three short years of existence, it could not experience greater development because of its lack of manufacturing and agriculture, poor social conditions, long-standing tribal conflicts, and lack of infrastructure. Prior to independence, South Sudan was a part of Sudan. There had been long standing tension between …show more content…

The many years of oppression leading up to its independence left the country with little to build on. Today, South Sudan is in the midst of what scholar Walt Whitman Rostow refers to as the pre-conditions for take off. He states "in many recent cases, for example, the traditional society persisted side by side with modern economic activities, conducted for limited economic purposes by a colonial or quasi-colonial power" (Rostow). Politically, he claims, the "building of an effective centralized national state--on the basis of coalitions touched with a new nationalism, in opposition to the traditional landed regional interests, the colonial power, or both, was a decisive aspect of the preconditions period; and it was, almost universally, a necessary condition for take-off." It is too early now to know for sure if South Sudan will make it to the final stages of development and the luxuries of advanced technology and mass …show more content…

South Sudan has no manufacturing, commercial agricultural base or services sector. As political scientist Robert Hunter Wade said, when a rising amount of domestic resources has to go into acquiring a given amount of imports, other domestic uses of those resources are squeezed, including measures to reduce poverty, to finance civil services and schools and the like. When so much of the nation's capitol is invested in simply maintaining order and working to improve the lives of the impoverished rural community, there is no opportunity for the state to become competitive in the international market. South Sudan is a nation with rich oil reserves, however lacks the organization and structure to take advantage of them. Once this problem is solved, the stage is set for a domino affect. The advancement of this industry would create jobs, which would help to lift many families out of poverty. The lessening of poverty could then lead to less violence over resources. This positive chain reaction could continue on, and eventually lead the nation into a more complete state of

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