Conflict Financing, Sanctions, and Conflict Resolution in Sudan

Both parties to the civil war in Sudan, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have extensive business interests and sources of conflict financing, including from extraction and trade in natural resources.  These interests are fueling, intensifying and prolonging the current conflict.  The objective of the Capstone project is to examine the extent to which tools of economic pressure – including network sanctions targeting SAF and RSF business interests – could be used more effectively to affect the calculations of warring parties and thus facilitate a negotiated settlement.  This project would use a political economy conceptual framework, draw upon open-source material regarding conflict dynamics in Sudan, and incorporate thematic literature regarding the use of sanctions in conflict resolution / mediation. The expected outcome would be a report which outlines SAF and RSF business interests (i.e. potential sanctions targets) and offers recommendations as to how sanctions and other financial and economic tools could usefully complement mediation and other conflict resolution initiatives.