South Sudan is approaching a critical moment in its political transition. Elections are scheduled for December 2026, while questions around constitutional reform, political inclusion and the faltering implementation of the 2018 peace agreement continue to shape debate about the country’s future. As South Sudan considers what legitimate and accountable governance might look like, the experience of a group of mothers and grandmothers in its eastern borderlands offers another place to look for political authority. ‘If you want to kill each other, you must kill us first.’ These were the words of a Murle grandmother describing the message that mothers and … Continue reading What South Sudan’s mothers teach us about political authority