Sudan is beset by an array of intractable problems that are keeping the nation in a state of stagnation and war, according to Richard Lobban, professor and director of African studies at the University of Rhode Island.
In a speech entitled "The Sudanese Gridlock," Lobban said the country is experiencing political, military, economic, internal and foreign deadlock.
He said that the country has experienced an "oscillation between plural democratic governments and military governments," and said that democratic governments are "always weak" in Sudan.
Since Sudan gained independence from Great Britain in 1956, it has had 5 changes in regime, with 36 years of military rule and 11 years of democratic rule. Since 1965, the country has experienced 24 years of war and only 14 years of peace. The past 20 years have witnessed near-constant conflict.
Lobban partly attributed this political instability to a series of ethnic, regional, religious and social issues. There is a division between the northern parts of the country and the southern parts, with many people who consider themselves Arabs in the north and many people who consider themselves Africans in the south, though Lobban warned this geographic division is oversimplified.
He said that there is a "lack of a national identity," with the Sudanese people placing their loyalties with their "gabila" (loosely translated as "tribe") instead of with the nation.
Religion is another point of division. There is currently a military, Islamist government in power, which many non-Muslims do not support. Lobban said though that the problem of religious differences is "ultimately not about Islam but about the politicalization of Islam." Most members of the non-Muslim population, he said, do not have a problem with Islam but with "Islam being shoved down their throats."
In recent peace talks, the government agreed to stop making people in the south abide by Islamic law, which Lobban saw as a positive sign of compromise and tolerance.
He also discussed Osama bin Laden, who operated out of Sudan for six years in the 1990s. Lobban expressed his disbelief that the United States did not take notice of Sudan until very late. He said, "Osama bin Laden should have gotten our attention. The first World Trade Center Bombing, planned ... in Khartoum, should have gotten our attention. The attack on U.S. special forces in Mogadishu, Somalia should have gotten our attention."
Lobban said that bin Laden and Sudan "finally got our attention" when the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed in 1998,with the U.S. responding by attacking a suspected chemical factory in Khartoum and a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan.
Lobban talked about a "new world order" that has had significant developments in recent days. He sees a "post-Saddam-statue-falling-down world," with the leaders of certain countries having a choice to make: "Would you like to work with [the United States], or would you like to be sent to your political grave?"
