Orbits: Tribalism Pandemic in Sudan (1-3)

By: Muawad Mustafa Rashid

Tribal conflicts in Sudan put the social fabric that makes up this country at stake, with dire consequences for all Sudanese.

Over the past years, Sudan has witnessed several tribal conflicts that resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries in the east, west and south of the country.

Over the years, the conflict becomes more violent, adding new challenges to Sudan, crises at the political and economic levels, along with problems in political stability, state building, and peaceful coexistence.

There is no doubt that the tribal structure constitutes an anthropological fact and a sociological characteristic in Sudan.

This structure has maintained its entity as a psychological and cultural structure that frames patterns of behavior, including political behavior.

The influence of the tribal structure in Sudan extends to include the political culture and political process prevailing in this country.

The tribe is considered the main social unit in Sudanese society, and it has important roles at the historical, social, political and economic levels.

Despite the establishment of the modern state in Sudan on modern political foundations, this state remained dependent for its existence on the tribal components of the Sudanese society.

Whether in Sudan’s ancient or modern history, the tribe is considered the axis from which the political, religious, security, economic and cultural sphere derives its strength. The reason for this is that there is no institution that can match the tribe in Sudan.

Indeed, the institutions in this country are the product of the tribe, as they are the actual engine of Sudanese history. Thus, the tribe in Sudan has become throughout history the driving and founding force of the state and society.
On this basis, nothing can be said about political, social and economic life in Sudan in isolation from the tribal situation.