Overview

Coming into existence amid a wave of optimism in 2011, South Sudan has since slid into violence and conflict. Even in the face of escalating civil war, however, the people of the country continue to fight for justice, despite a widespread culture of corruption and impunity. Drawing on extensive new research, Rachel Ibreck examines people’s lived experiences as they navigate South Sudan’s fledgling justice system, as well as the courageous efforts of lawyers, activists, and ordinary citizens to assert their rights and hold the government to account. In doing so, the author reveals how justice plays out in a variety of settings, from displacement camps to chiefs’ courts, and in cases ranging from communal land disputes to the country’s turbulent peace process. Based on a collaborative research project carried out with South Sudanese activists and legal practitioners, the book also demonstrates the value of conducting researching with, rather than simply about those affected by conflict. At heart, this is a people’s story of South Sudan - what works in this troubled country is what people do for themselves.

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9781786993397

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'This is a remarkable book, advancing to a new level the debate about the nature of justice in wartime and filling an important gap in the literature on South Sudan. It is part political sociology, part deep ethnography about how people live with and overcome injustice and part personal histories of incredible legal activists. Ibreck has demonstrated how challenging and yet important it is to conduct fieldwork that takes life as it is lived below state institutions. She convincingly argues that South Sudan is trapped between efforts to recognize customary legal authorities as frontline justice dispensers and the ambition to become a modern state where the national constitution reigns supreme. The result of this is a brilliant expose of a long struggle between ordinary citizens in search of justice and the institutions of the state that are vying to become the ultimate source of authority. This book is a must read for anyone wishing to understand, not just this complex political and social history, but also the difficult question of whether traditional ethnography is a fitting tool for the study of violence.' Jok Maduk Jok, Sudd Institute

Author Information

Rachel Ibreck is a lecturer in politics and international relations at Goldsmiths, University of London. She is currently working with lawyers and community activists on researching everyday experiences of customary and statutory justice during the conflict in South Sudan for the Justice and Security Research Programme, at the LSE. She has previously worked for human rights organizations including Justice Africa.

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