Sudan
The ascendency of the National Islamic Front (NIF) to state power
through military coup in 1989 and its subsequent assertion of readiness
to export its version of political Islam to the region in large
pronounced a genesis of a process of isolation of the Islamic
government. As part of isolating and encircling the Islamic government,
the Clinton administration played crucial role in the creation of
Frontline States (FS) against Sudan comprising Uganda, Ethiopia and
Eritrea (Nmoma 2006: 55-6). The FS in collaboration with the Clinton
Administration undertook concerted activities that included supporting
internal opposition such as the southern rebels and the National
Democratic Alliance. On the international arena also diplomatic
isolation and economic sanctions intended to undermine and weaken the
legitimacy of the Islamic government were systematically conducted.
Despite the concerted assaults however the Islamic government survived.
The FS collapsed when the Eritrea-Ethiopia second war (1998-2000) broke
out (Kibreab, 2009. The two main actors of the FS not only engaged in
destructive inter-state war but also hurried to win the support of the
Islamic government in Sudan (de Waal 2015: 48).
A number of incidents that were allegedly attributed to the National
Islamic Front government sparked US actions against Sudan. One of such
incidents was the bombing of the US Embassies in Dar es Salaam and
Nairobi in 1998 where Sudan was allegedly implicated, putting it in the
limelight of the GWT (Keller, 2006). Consequently, the US bombed a
pharmaceutical plant in Khartoum that was producing malaria medicine on
the suspicion that it was producing chemical weapons. The incidents in
Dar es Salaam and Nairobi coupled with the provision of sanctuary to Al
Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden, placed Sudan in the list of states
harbouring terrorism (Fluehr-Lobban, 2012). The US therefore pursued a
hostile policy against Sudan that included economic sanctions, political
isolation and supporting opposition groups that led to the split of the
country (Nmoma, 2006). Sudan was placed in the list of states that
espouse terrorism.
Putting it in the list of states sponsoring terrorism that lasted for
decades and was only lifted after the fall of the Omar el-Bashir
government in 2019 crippled the economy of the Sudan. Sudan was barred
from accessing international economic institution, disconnected from
Visa and Swish systems, external investment and diplomatic relations
were curtailed. Even travelling to Sudan would place one under suspicion
and maybe subjected to rigorous scrutinization for interring the United
States of America. This complete shutting subjected the country to
unimaginable problems including split. The running war involving the
national army and the Rapid Support Force is a consequence of the
shutting. It led to fragile state and weak society. In the fragile
states index for 2023, Sudan ranks 7th (FSI, 2023)
The GWT and the concomitant military threat hanging on the NCP led
Khartoum to concede to self-determination and secession of South Sudan.
The secession instead of bringing peace, stability and development to
both countries however brought more wars and carnage. Blue Nile, South
Kordufan and Darfur became the next war zones in Sudan, South Sudan was
plunged in bloody civil war in December 2013 (Theron, 2022). Belatedly,
the NCP government took a number of measures intended to improve its
relations with the White House, following 11 September 2001. It closed
alleged terrorist network cells, provided intelligence information to US
agencies, cooperated with CIA and FBI, foiled attacks against US targets
(Nmoma, 2006), the rewards for Sudan were however disappointing. The bar
of demands from the USA kept rising. Sudan continued to face sanctions
and remained in the list of states sponsoring terrorism. The US raised
new demands that included the Darfur problem, in order to lift the
sanctions. Lately also the Trump Administration added diplomatic
relation with Israel to the list of conditions (BBC, 2020). The
indictment of President Omar Al Bashir by the ICC for alleged crimes
committed in Darfur further complicated Sudan’s relation with the West.
The upshot of all this is continued multifaceted crisis in Sudan.
The economic consequences of the GWT driven sanctions and isolation were
immense to the Sudanese society. The devastation brought on society and
consequent chronic state crisis is overwhelming. Under massive popular
uprising the Omar al Bashir government was deposed in April 2019. The
military that took over power however opposed surrendering power to a
transitional civilian government. The confrontation between the armed
forces and civilian population culminated in the outbreak of war between
the Sudanese Defence Forces and Rapid Support Forces on April 15, 2023.
Sudan is therefore, still marching along the pathway it has been
marching for the last seventy years. The compounded consequences of
sanctions, isolation (effects of GWT) and inability of the political
elite to advance state and nation formation have severely weakened the
state and shattered the unity of society. The outcome is clearly
demonstrated in tackling the challenges of transition from a military
rule to civil governance following the fall of the NCP regime in 2019
(Bereketeab, 2022).