What is it about?
This article examines the Darfur conflict in Sudan from an Arab lens, rejecting Western ideas of Arab-African ethnic cleansing as myths driven by bias. It traces local causes to conflicts over scarce water and land between herders and farmers, exacerbated by a weak central government, rebel splits, and elite power struggles in Khartoum. Regionally, it links the violence to border chaos with Chad and the Central African Republic, while globally, it critiques powers like the US and groups like Save Darfur for pushing agendas tied to oil, influence, and post-9/11 Islam-West tensions, including the ICC warrant against President al-Bashir.
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Why is it important?
The piece matters because it offers a counter-narrative to dominant media portrayals, highlighting how oversimplified "genocide" labels block real solutions and ignore Sudan's complex identity mix where most groups share Arab ties and language. Amid over 2.5 million displaced and 200,000 deaths, it stresses needs for judicial reform, security fixes, and Arab-Muslim involvement to fill strategic gaps, preventing wider Sudan breakup.
Perspectives
From my perspective as a scholar of African security at Zayed University, this Arab viewpoint aligns closely with my analyses of Sudan, like ongoing Sahel geopolitics and coups' development tolls—it underscores how external meddling fuels hybrid conflicts, urging unified national responses over tribal rifts, much like my work on BRICS roles in stabilizing the Global South.
Professor Hamdy A. Hassan
Zayed University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Dimensions of the Darfur Crisis and its Consequences: An Arab Perspective, SSRN Electronic Journal, January 2010, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.1698697.
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