How the Federal System of Government is Misunderstood in South Sudan

South Sudan emerged as a state from over two decades of a violent conflict, fought between the Sudanese government and the southern rebels known as the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M). Between the interim period and independence (2005-2011), the region was governed under ‘federally’ decentralized structures, constituted in both the regional and national interim constitutions. Chapter III of both South Sudan’s interim (2005) and transitional (2011) constitutions clearly mandates a decentralized system of government, with separate powers among federal (central), state, and local administrations. The two constitutions unambiguously emphasize the importance of participatory governance, democracy, and the devolution of powers among different layers of the government. These layers are supposedly linked administratively but in a way that ensures the separation of powers, promotes cooperation, and provides for an interactively functional system. Although there is no mention of federalism in any of the legal documents, their features optimally reflect a decentralized federal system.