The Need for a National Security Policy in South Sudan

South Sudan needs a national security policy to tackle the complex national security challenges it faces.

According to Brian Adeba the Editor of Center for Strategic and Policy Studies, a new national security policy must be broad in definition and prioritize the delivery of security to all stakeholders: the state, the government, and the people.

“A national security policy will show to the world that South Sudan is a responsible member of the community of states. The implements of a national security policy go far beyond addressing internal threats but can also contribute to tackling global security threats, such as pandemics or terrorism”, Adeba said

But why does South Sudan need a national security policy?. It should be remembered that since 2011, security delivery in South Sudan has not been based on a national security policy or strategy. Efforts to formulate a national security policy were shelved in 2013 when the power struggle in the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) gathered full steam and plunged the country into a civil war.

Therefore, to Adeba, the formation of the Transitional Government of National Unity and the extension of the R-ARCSS offers a new opportunity for policymakers to begin thinking of drafting of a new security policy to address the many and complex national security challenges facing the country. Pandemics, natural disasters, militarized cattle-raiding, armed banditry, armed rebellion, porous and contested border areas, and incursions by armed nomadic groups from the Sahel region round out the myriad security threats facing the country.

” A national security policy is an official document that a country formulates based on its understanding of its national values, interests, goals, strategic environment, and threats which serves as a framework from which strategies are drawn to inform the delivery of national security priorities across different sectors. In this regard, it is important to stop all wars in the country”, Adeba added.

Adeba further calls upon South Sudan’s politicians to ensure that the process of drafting a new policy is transparent, evidence-based, non-partisan, and led by a competent technical leadership so as to accord legitimacy to the process and to the product