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Redefining National Identity and Nation‐Building in P ost‐secession S udans: Civic and Ethnic Models
Author(s) -
Bereketeab Redie
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
studies in ethnicity and nationalism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.204
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 1754-9469
pISSN - 1473-8481
DOI - 10.1111/sena.12096
Subject(s) - secession , identity (music) , national identity , ethnic group , referendum , sociology , diversity (politics) , political science , political economy , gender studies , law , politics , aesthetics , philosophy
The split of S udan following popular referendum in S outh S udan may have spurred a need for a serious reconsideration of national identity and nation‐building in the two emerging states. S udan is compelled to embark in the reconstitution of national identity in a manner that reflects the new reality. S outh S udan also needs to gear its post‐secession identity formation and nation‐building in a way that reflects and celebrates its ethnocultural diversity. This article seeks to analyse identity and nation‐building in the S udans using the sociological concepts of civic identity and ethnic identity. It examines the challenges of reconstitution of national identity and nation‐building in a postcolonial, pluralistic, and post‐secession setting. The main focus is on the post‐secession period. It argues that the hierarchical organization of the civic identity and ethnic identity, which give rise to a duality of identity, may inform the new social contract of the reconstituted nation‐building processes in the Sudans.