Diminishing Role of the Youth and Civil Society Organizations in the Process of PeaceBuilding in Central Equatoria State and beyond

Abstract

Abstract
The youth and civil society organizations have important roles to play in the process of peacebuilding, but they have not been fully engaged in South Sudan. Their role in the nine functions to
help prevent reoccurrence of conflict was neglected. This study investigated the reason why such
negligence occurred. The youth became vulnerable to recruitment to fight for politicians to gain
recognition for position in the national government, making conflicts sources of employment.
Civil society organizations, which should have been responsible for the signing of legitimate
contracts with the national government and the business sector, and as an intermediary between
the government and the society, were weak to negotiate effective social contracts. Stratified
purposive interviews were conducted in Juba and Kajokeji counties, including two focus group
discussions. Workshops were attended to fill in information gaps from the other states. Primary
data was gathered through in-depth interviews with key informants: civil society organizations,
national and international non-governmental organizations, government officials, and former
fighters. Secondary sources were gathered from the University of Juba. The data was analyzed
using the process of ethnography and discourse analysis, interpretation and observation. The
findings of the study show that the national government adopted a centralized system of
administration, and youth and civil society organizations did not play an effective role in
preventing the reoccurrence of conflicts. Practices of good governance became difficult to
establish a democratic state, leading to neglect of the role of the youth and civil society
organizations in the process of peace-building, Inclusivity, good policies and appropriate
conditions for further research would be needed.