New research casts spotlight on South Sudan’s controversial Jonglei Canal project

New research from DPhil Politics student François Sennesael and alumnus and DPIR Associate Member Dr Harry Verhoeven sheds light on the controversial Jonglei Canal project in South Sudan and geopolitical context of recent developments surrounding the project.

In their publication for Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy–‘Energy and Water for Sovereignty: South Sudan’s Regional Diplomacy and the Geopolitics of the Nile Basin’–they demonstrate how South Sudan’s leadership has leveraged the country’s immense energy/agricultural potential to balance external interests.

And their research shows how this has also been used to bolster the nation’s sovereignty at a regional level and fend off unwelcome intervention in its affairs.

The paper also highlights how some of Africa’s weakest states can take strategic advantage of anxieties over global commodity shortages and energy transitions.

François said: “I was very pleased to write this research on South Sudan with Dr Harry Verhoeven.

“We wanted to emphasize the role South Sudan has played in the shaping of a political and economic order in Eastern Africa.

“Our intention was to go beyond a narrative focusing exclusively on fragility and violence to demonstrate how South Sudanese elites have leveraged the country’s immense energy and agriculture potential for political benefits.”

The research is primarily aimed at policy makers but will also be of interest to the general public as the ‘Jonglei Canal controversy’ in South Sudan hit the news. This commentary also situates this debate in the wider geopolitics of the Nile basin.