Sudan’s secession makes a number of African governments nervous. The last country to gain independence was Eritrea in 1993 and this resulted in a series of violent disputes with Ethiopia. Somaliland has been campaigning for independence from the world’s perpetual failed state, Somalia, and may now look to South Sudan, as will Darfur, the Delta in Nigeria, Cabinda in Angola, Ogaden in Ethiopia and the northern Sahara in Nigeria. These regions may look for political independence along with the resources they control despite the received wisdom that integration brings greater economic, security and political rewards than atomisation. The drive to new statehood therefore makes domestic rulers and international agencies nervous for the future of the continent as a whole.
Paul Jackson is Professor of African Politics