Popular Struggles and Elite Co-optation: The Nuer White Army in South Sudan’s Civil War (HSBA Working Paper 41)

This study reviews the limited literature on the history, organization, and operation of the white army in the context of the civil war that erupted in December 2013. The present research has two main components. First, based primarily on interviews, it provides a broad picture of the contemporary white army and attempts to give its fighters a human face. Second, and in particular, the motivation of white army fighters, their under-standing of the war and the peace agreement, what they want for the future of South Sudan, their response to accusations of human rights abuses, and other issues will be examined.