The Somaliland Peace and Development Journal (SPDJ) is an annual peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies of the University of Hargeisa. The journal’s core mission is to enhance understanding of peace, conflict management, and development through research and publication.
In its holistic multidisciplinary approach to research, the journal aims to increase the capacity of people to analyze and better understand the fundamental causes of social, economic, political, and environmental challenges through the facilitation of healthy and intellectual discussion.
Towards this goal, the journal foster the dialogue between academics, practitioners, and policymakers inside and outside of Somaliland on several issues related to peace, security, and development. Furthermore, the journal serves as a vehicle for broader dissemination of research findings to inform policymaking.
Towards this holistic objective, the journal focuses on the following thematic areas: conflict and development, political violence, violent extremism, governance and democracy in post-conflict settings, peace, conflict, and education, migration and climate change, and security.
Vol. 6 Articles
The Jonglei Canal Project: South Sudan Students’ Protest, 1974 Yosa Wawa & Daniel Thabo Nyibong | DOI: https://doi.org/10.55569/spdj.24612
Abstract
In the northern part of South Sudan, due to the flatness of the terrain, the flow of the White Nile
has been greatly slowed down resulting in the formation of vast swamps called sudd (barrier) in
Arabic. The Dinka, Nuer and the Shilluk refer to this flood plain as toich. It is central to their
livelihoods. In 1974 Egypt and Sudan agreed to construct a canal to divert the water of the White
Nile away from the sudd area. This canal, referred to as the Jonglei Canal, was to run between
Bor and Sobat River. Many people in South Sudan were opposed to the construction of this canal.
Using rumours, they mobilized students to oppose the construction of the canal through strikes
which resulted unfortunately in the killing of two students, closure ofschools, and arrests or exiling
of some politicians.
