Is climate change the culprit for the disaster in Darfur? The answer is not simple. In this posting I argue that climatic and environmental factors have compelled Darfurians to adapt their livelihoods and migrate southwards. These changes have been going

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(posted on behalf of Angela R. Swayze, who recently served as an election observer in Nigeria with the National Democratic Institute of International Affairs)

I’d like to hear more discussion about how traditional and community level methods of mediation are currently faring given the history of government undermining these practices. In response to Martha Bixby’s question on the role American activists should play in the peace process, Alex de Waal cited a recent Washington Post op-ed by Julie Flint maintaining that [...]
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by Alex de Waal and Sam Rosmarin

Every month, we hear advocates and humanitarian organizations saying that the situation in Darfur is once again deteriorating. The Sudan government says the opposite. It is unusual for an independent observer such as Gerbert van der Aa to make the case that things are not as bad as they are painted. What is the basis for these claims and counter-claims? Is it violent deaths, overall mortality and malnutrition, levels of displacement, security incidents affecting humanitarian agencies, or some other indicator? [...] Continue reading →

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(posted on behalf of Gerbert van der Aa, a Dutch historian and journalist who specializes in Africa north of the equator. Van der Aa has been visiting Sudan regularly since 1994 and is currently writing a book on the country.)

I was in Darfur in May to work on a book. I was really shocked to see that the situation on the ground is much better than what we are made to believe by aid organizations and many Western media. According to the UN, malnutrition rates are half of what they were in 2003 and most people in Darfur now have access to clean drinking water. Also, violence is much less than three years ago. [...] Continue reading →

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I’m not sure whether this kind of thing is on the radar screen of most Darfur watchers; but as this blog’s only non-expert contributor, I thought I’d point out that Vanity Fair has just now published its “historic” Africa issue, guest-edited by U2 frontman Bono. [...] Continue reading →

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The agreement between the UN, AU and Sudan Government in Addis Ababa today (June 12) on the AU-UN hybrid peacekeeping force for Darfur might—just might—be a breakthrough. Ambiguity lurks in the text. Problems will multiply with actually making it happen.

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What motivates the Sudan government? This conundrum faces activists and policymakers as they grapple with Darfur.

One view is that the government’s agenda is primarily ideological—to impose a monolithic Arab and Islamic identity on a diverse country—and that it pursues this agenda with ruthless consistency.

A second view is that it’s only interested in power. The Islamists who were purged from the government in 1999-2000 argue this. One of them said, if the Prophet Mohammed turned up on the streets of Khartoum today, the government would send him away saying he has no business being there.

And there’s a third view, which is that the government consists of multiple competing power centers, and that most of its policies are incoherent or dysfunctional. Continue reading →

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