Revitalizing Towards Peace or Relapsing Into Chaos? Implementation of South Sudan’s 2018 Agreement and the Upcoming Elections

In December 2024, South Sudan is scheduled to hold its first election as agreed upon in the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) and the renegotiated timeline. The agreement contains numerous provisions specific to drafting the permanent constitution, rebuilding institutions, reforming the security sector, managing natural resources, implementing transitional justice and the healing process, and many other tasks the parties agreed to implement before the elections. This report provides an overview of the implementation of R-ARCSS compared to the implementation of Sudan’s 2005 agreement and agreements in other countries based on the Peace Accords Matrix methodology. By identifying numerous critical gaps in the implementation of R-ARCSS, this report discusses how those gaps potentially create doubts about the electoral process and the election outcome, which could further create cycles of violence and instability. The report concludes by discussing elections as a proven means of attaining post-war peace and stability when such elections are held after significant milestones in the peace implementation process are reached. It points to the need for parties in South Sudan to devise preemptive plans should they proceed with the current election schedule.