Social capital and civil war: The Dinka communities in Sudan’s civil war

It is generally assumed that violent conflict has a negative effect on social capital, and war zones are considered to be ‘zones of social capital deficiency’. This article challenges this position, and attempts to develop a more nuanced understanding of the status of social capital in the context o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:African affairs (London) 2010-04, Vol.109 (435), p.231-250
Main Author: Deng, Luka Biong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Africa
African history
Casualties
Cattle
Civil War
Civil wars
Communities
Company business management
Conflict
Conflicts
Counterinsurgency
Empirical research
Famine
Local communities
Management
Militias
Poverty
Social aspects
Social Capital
Social capital (Sociology)
Social impact
Sudan
Violence
War
Warfare
Wealth
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Summary:It is generally assumed that violent conflict has a negative effect on social capital, and war zones are considered to be ‘zones of social capital deficiency’. This article challenges this position, and attempts to develop a more nuanced understanding of the status of social capital in the context of Sudan’s civil war. The empirical findings clearly question any simplistic assumption that conflict erodes social capital. While it is true that certain types of social capital have been a casualty of civil war, the opposite is the case in other communities. The article explains this difference by drawing a distinction between ‘endogenous’ and ‘exogenous’ counter-insurgency warfare. Communities in southern Sudan that were exposed to endogenous counter-insurgency warfare experienced a loss of social capital, but where exogenous violence dominated, there has been a deepening and strengthening of bonding social capital among and within communities.
ISSN:0001-9909
1468-2621
DOI:10.1093/afraf/adq001