Sudan: Darfur and the Failure of an African State

by Richard Cockett

Over the past two decades, the situation in Africa’s largest country, Sudan, has progressively the country is in second position on the Failed States Index, a war in Darfur has claimed hundreds of thousands of deaths, President Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court, a forthcoming referendum on independence for Southern Sudan threatens to split the country violently apart. In this fascinating and immensely readable book, the Africa editor of the Economist gives an absorbing account of Sudan’s descent into failure and what some have called genocide. Drawing on interviews with many of the main players, Richard Cockett explains how and why Sudan has disintegrated, looking in particular at the country’s complex relationship with the wider world. He shows how the United States and Britain were initially complicit in Darfur—but also how a broad coalition of human-rights activists, right-wing Christians, and opponents of slavery succeeded in bringing the issues to prominence in the United States and creating an impetus for change at the highest level.

Genres: Africa, History, Sudan, Nonfiction, Politics

320 pages, Paperback

First published July 9, 2010

About the author

Richard Cockett is Southeast Asia editor and correspondent at The Economist. He is the author of several books, the most recent being Sudan: Darfur and the Failure of an African State. He lives in London.

Reviews

[Doreen Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a country was torn to shreds with so much needless bloodshed and the world stood by and watched and did nothing. We should all be ashamed of ourselves for the wholesale slaughter of these people. This is a must read.

[Eliza Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comprehensive and readable for learning the basics of Sudanese history - obvs a bit out of date now but that can't be helped

[Jonathan Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Martin Meredith's "The Fate of Africa" is the definitive book for an overview of African history, but anyone who wants more detail on perhaps the geopolitically most important African state of the 21st century should pick up this book (oddly mistitled here, actually named "Sudan : Darfur and the failure of an African state"). The name is a bit deceptive as much of the boko, particularly the early portion, focuses more (justifiably) on the North/South conflict that has really defined Sudan since independence from British rule... the Arab-Dinka (mostly) tribal conflicts, events leading up to Khartoum's importance as a city-state and terrorist haven, and particularly the role of Hassan Turabi - shed here in a bit of a different light as Nation builder and the complicated political relationship with Omar Bashir, vs. his typical brutish depiction as Osama Bin Laden's mentor. Also interesting the analysis as to the use of "genocide" vs. "ethnic cleansing" to describe the events occuring both to the West in Darfur and the South. I may consider both to be similar descriptions of heinous crimes against humanity, but here Cockett argues that the term "genocide" was affixed for political reasons in order to spur memories of the Holocaust in order to drum up additional support for opposition leaders such as John Garang (this Iowa St. PhD rebel leader had just as much blood on his hands as the janjaweed) against the mostly Arab/Muslim elite rulers of the North. I typically enjoy reading about modern history and events which I vividly remember, though this one is sadder than most, and certainly continuing without an end in near sight. As with most of the world's conflicts, there really is no "good" or "bad" guy here... it did not take long for what once began as virtuous ideals to quickly degenerate to mass murder, use of child soldiers, and rape as a weapon (all done by all sides). I wish I could say that I have the optimism of Ryszard Kapuscinski, but sadly don't see an avenue for peace anytime soon. I guess the 1st step we can hope for is understanding. For anyone who wants to better understand, this book is a good place to start. Last footnote - I do love the recollection about discussions in the Bush administration about sending in troops to Darfur. Condoleeza Rice is typically credited with the most famous quote from this debate "I don't think you can invade another muslim country", but I don't know why this other was not more publicized - "send in private contractors such as Blackwater Security to bring peace? No way, they're just the American Janjaweed militia

[Alexander Ruchti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sudan has a tragic history. Right after gaining independence from the British empire in 1955, the nation went from one struggle to the next. The first Sudanese civil war lasted from 1955 to 1972. And from 1983 to 2005, the second civil war took place. Most well known around the world is the later part of the second civil war, particularly the crisis in Darfur, which was filled with events of pillaging, rape, and ethnic cleansing. Sudan is a country where all the major forces that shape the contemporary world; religious fundamentalism, high finance, terrorism, ethnic hatred, oil, nationalism, and the rise of Asia - collided with one another, usually with disastrous consequences.

The subtitle of the book is a bit disingenuous. "Darfur" only makes up about 30% of the content of the book. It is much more a history of how the Sudanese government and the international community messed up over decades, rather than a focused retelling about Darfur.

And because the book is all about Sudan's history, it very much suffers from being released in 2010. Many things that the book hints at or speculates about in the afterword has happened in the mean time. It feels like an unfinished story. The book finishes with an "in 2011, the South of Sudan will likely chose to become an independent nation". Well, yes, that happened 10 years ago and it led to massive struggles. Some argue that "South Sudan won the war and then lost the peace". Similarly, The secession of the south meant that oil revenues (the main revenue source for the "north" Sudan government) has gone down drastically, leading to an economic crisis that continues to this day. The book portrays the capital Khartoum as rich, but that is no longer the case.

While I think the book is a very valuable collection of information about Sudan, I am not giving it more than 3 stars (liked it). Instead of focusing on Darfur [as the subtitle hints at] it tells the entire story of the country after 1955, but only until 2010, which leaves out a lot of very important events that have happened since. The book could massively benefit from an updated second edition.

[Rflutist · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in order to write a paper on interstate conflict for grad school. As I was unfamiliar with the Darfur conflict, I read this book in its entirety, and found that it provided an excellent historical background and details regarding the conflict. There are only two points that I wish were developed further: 1. An explanation of the patronage system / corruption within Khartoum; and 2. A more detailed explanation regarding George W. Bush's involvement in the region and how his involvement in Sudan influenced his bid for re-election.

The author is a journalist for The Economist magazine and the caliber of his writing reflects this fact. I would read more of his work, which I hope will be the culmination of many stamps in his passport.

[D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cockett wrote for the economist and this book sometimes feels like an extended economist article. It covers a loose history of Sudan since independence providing a useful outline. He also includes bits of color from his trips to the country but it seems like everyone he interviewed now works for an NGO in Kenya. You don't get a strong sense of how the country actually functions or much beyond what a typical foreigner would see on a short trip. I found the best sections were on the UN response to Darfur something I remember but didn't know much about. I was surprised how closely it lined up with the UN described in Michael Soussan's Backstabbing for Beginners. The book is worth reading if you are looking for a quick introduction to Sudan but if you need anything more you'll have to search elsewhere.

[وسام عبده · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a magnificent book about the roots of Sudan crisis. The author illustrated in his work the complicated relation between Sudan and the rest of the world. He shows how the USA and UK were initially involved in the conflict in Dar Fur. The author had depended in his work on the personal interviews with the key players in the Sudanese scene.
كتاب رائع حول جذور الأزمة السودانية. يرسم المؤلف في عمله هذا العلاقات المعقدة التي تربط بين السودان وباقي العالم، ويظهر كيف تورطت الولايات المتحدة وبريطانيا في الصراع في دارفور ابتداء. بني المؤلف عمله على مجموعة من اللقاءات مع اللاعبين الرئيسيين في المشهد السوداني.

[Mike Girling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging and engrossing, right up until the bitter end. It is a very readable political history of the country, now countries, in the twentieth century. Books like this that span such a long period of time and different issues could always benefit from some pictorial or diagrammatic exposition to complement the text. No matter how well written, and as the author is the former Africa Editor of The Economist, it is very well written, my visual memory would appreciate some timelines, photos of key characters, etc.

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isan excellent introduction to Modern Sudanese politics. The reader will come away with a solid understanding of Sudan's geopolitics and the major factors that shape its society. The only drawback to the book is its headline claims that it is an explanation for the genocide in Darfur. Unfortunately this is one of the few weaknesses of the book, that the chapters on Darfur feel tacked on an tangential to the core narrative of Sudan's politics overall.

Nonetheless, this is definitely worth the read to understand Sudan and Eastern Africa in general.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

Provides a great overview of the history of Sudan, focusing especially on the relationships between Khartoum and the two regions of biggest conflict; the south and Darfur. The book is well written and compelling, breaking down the complex history into digestible periods and trends. The book is reaching 10 years since the last revision and edition, which isn't really the book's fault, but it does feel a bit out of date.

[Ben Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview of Sudan's history so far.

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good introduction to Sudan and it's history

[Doug Nielson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read if you are looking for a comprehensive overview of modern Sudanese history + a little lighter on South Sudanese history, but understandable given the date of the 2nd edition

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1557396.html

Cockett is the Economist's Africa editor, and has produced here a very readable account of the last few decades and years in Sudan, explaining how the Darfur crisis came about and exploring the international reaction to both Darfur and the sputtering implementation of the peace agreement between the government in Khartoum and the southern part of the country.

Among those professionally engaged in Sudanese matters I am a member of the small minority who are not covering Darfur at all, so I found this book very useful in contextualising my own concerns within the international community's wider agenda. Cockett explores rather viciously (though I have seen even more vicious analysis) the impact of international activism on Sudanese politics and Western policy. He also has a couple of good sections on Asian involvement, particularly but not only China. I missed, however, a decent explanation of the roles of Libya and Chad in Darfur, which borders both. I was also puzzled by his repeated bemoaning of how the politics of building coalition governments doomed Sudan; it's not clear to me (and it certainly isn't clear from his account) that the current regime, effectively a one-party state with a few southern trimmings, has delviered better results than its predecessors. And although the chronology of events in Darfur in the recent period is good, and the accounts of the conditions of life and death are pretty horrific and memorable, I wiould have liked to read a judicious summing up of what exactly had happened and who he thinks was really to blame.

[Teresa Vanderford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well written, easy read. Richard Crockett does an excellent job intertwining historical data with personal interviews. Although it was written prior to the split of Southern Sudan, it lays a perfect foundation for those who want to know why this country has failed.

[Mohamed Hassan · Rating 5 out of 5]

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