Factors Influencing the Efficacy of Decentralization in Ethnic Conflict Resolution in Juba County, South Sudan

Martin Wulla Kwori

Factors Influencing the Efficacy of Decentralization in Ethnic Conflict Resolution in Juba County, South Sudan

Author(s)	Dr. Martin Wulla Kwori
Country	Sudan
Abstract	The neoliberal and neopopulists assumptions that decentralization is a panacea for service delivery and conflict resolution sharpened public dissatisfaction with centralized governance in the late twentieth century, evoking a global shift toward decentralization for effective service delivery and management of diversity. However, the empirical literature reveals contradictory outcomes in various contexts, necessitating context-specific studies. This study examines the factors that influence the efficacy of decentralization in resolving ethnic conflicts over public resources and opportunities in Juba County, South Sudan, the seat of the national and Central Equatoria State governments. Embracing a mixed-methods case study design, systematic sampling and survey questionnaires were used for collecting quantitative data from 349 household representatives in Rejaf and Luri payams, while qualitative perspectives were generated from 41 purposively selected key informants using an interview guide. The findings reveal that South Sudan’s leaders have reversed the democratic decentralization enshrined in the country’s governance legal frameworks to severe deconcentration, compromising decentralization’s effective contribution to resolution of intercommunal conflicts. The efficacy of local governance in conflict resolution is severely compromised by a deficit in political will, severe fiscal underfunding (with local governments receiving mere 2–3% fund transfers), rampant corruption and sectarian nepotism, and the absence of national land and employment policies. Furthermore, this study brings to light a context-specific factor which the current empirical literature is silent about: the heavily armed transhumance of pastoralist groups, which overwhelms local government authorities and drives violent land disputes. From the lens of the study’s conceptual framework that merged John Rawls’ theory of justice, Amartya Sen’s capability approach, and John Paul Lederach’s conflict transformation theory, this study argues that decentralization cannot resolve resource-based ethnic conflicts unless it genuinely empowers subnational structures to enforce distributive justice. The research offers actionable insights for effective policy design and sustainable peacebuilding in post-conflict states.
Keywords	Decentralization; Distributive Justice; Ethnic Conflict Resolution; Juba County; South Sudan; Armed Transhumance.
Field	Sociology > Politics
Published In	Volume 7, Issue 3, May-June 2026
Published On	2026-06-25

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Factors Influencing the Efficacy of Decentralization in Ethnic Conflict Resolution in Juba County, South Sudan

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