31/1/2022: Responsible Statecraft – Buying time: Burhan’s strategy in Sudan, by Jihad Mashamoun

Political analyst Jihad Mashamoun argues that Sudan’s military ruler Abdulfattah al-Burhan’s apparent openness to inclusive dialogue with the Sudanese civilian opposition is an “intricate” game to ensure the success of his military coup.

To compensate for the loss of international legitimacy caused by the resignation of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, Mashamoun suggests that al-Burhan aims to satisfy western warnings against unilateral military appointments of a civilian government by recruiting key former officials of the National Congress Party of deposed dictator Omar al-Bashir and co-opting ambitious individuals “perhaps even from the Forces of Freedom and Change” (FFC).

Mashamoun adds that FFC divides play into the military’s interest in showing the international community that the FFC is not a representative of the Sudanese people, which may encourage Western policy-makers to consider a renewed civil-military partnership as the most realistic path for any transition.