Il Sudan in cerca di nuovi equilibri

Persistent tension with Egypt has set Sudan at the centre of the political stage and heightened the need for a closer examination of the often ill—valued Sudanese power system and government, regarded as nothing short of an “Islamic-military junta”. The truth is, however, that the “Islamic” dimension of the controversy dividing the Khartoum leadership is the least important one. The deepest contrasts, which emerged during the April 1995 Islamic Conference, concern Sudan’s position on the Algerian question, and designs for a rapprochement with the West. The real bone of contention seems to be the normalisation of Sudan’s position within the system of international relations. In the background, all the problems of transition remain: controversies between factions in the leadership; economic difficulties; the high level of socio-political fragmentation. All these problems are vying with each other in weakening a State already fraught by structural imbalances and international isolation.