Sayrof: The Civilian Government

Sayrof, in his analysis of political systems, points out that a civilian government is defined by civilian control over several key files, most importantly defense, internal security, and foreign policy. Based on this analysis, we find that the political elite is not moving towards a civilian state, as they still talk about the partnership of the military and a role for the army in power. This greatly confuses matters and leads to confusion in any process of civilian or democratic transition, especially in the presence of generals interested in committing atrocities and war crimes. For this reason, we find that the October 25 coup was a natural outcome of the flawed concept of civilian government and their integration with the military in the Qaharat regime.

Mahmoud Mohamed Ahmed: The Conflict Between Rural and Urban

Mahmoud Mohamed Ahmed argues that the state of a post-colonial country cannot be understood without a clear analysis of the colonial state. This was characterized by "direct rule" on the one hand, which was a form of "urban civilian authority" and focused on excluding the indigenous population from the civil rights afforded to citizens in civil society. On the other hand, it was characterized by indirect rule, which was rural in nature and involved integrating the "indigenous population" into the "tribal system imposed by the state," which was imposed by a "rural tribal authority" that he called "decentralized despotism." This puts us before an analytical view of the developments that occurred in Khartoum during the sit-in at the Square, where this division between rural and urban was observed in the groups that sided with the Square and those who were against the Square. The division can be clearly observed: (traditional administrations with marginalized rural people supported by tribal militias versus intellectuals and urban dwellers) (the project of social ascent versus the project of civilian/national salvation).

From the foregoing three perspectives, the vision is unclear and obscured under the current circumstances and equations. Therefore, other ways must be sought to establish a civilian democratic state, which is the basis for a strong army capable of guarding its borders. Among these initiatives, we find the initiative of the roundtable, the Sudan Future Campaign, and the Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue by Abdel Wahid Mohamed Nour. A true civilian alliance is necessary to restructure the army and change its doctrine to ensure its commitment to the constitution and its defined tasks.