SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: War On The Rocks – Can Sudan’s Military Be Convinced to Support Democracy
Nathaniel Allen, a US Institute of Peace policy advisor and the Brooking Institution’s Sharan Grewal highlights ways in which the Sudanese opposition and the US can incentivise the military to allow Sudanese democracy.
Allen and Grewal argue that opposition should exploit army-RSF divides, with the army “unlikely to initiate a conflict that risks further destabilizing Sudan.”
It is suggested that the army could be incentivised to support civilian rule by concessions such as: amnesty for abuses, influence over security policy and reliable funding, with the RSF’s lower ranks also granted amnesty and possibly disbanded or incorporated into the army.
Allen and Grewal then argue that the US can reduce the “malign” influence of the Saudis, UAE and Egypr by threatening to cut military support, as well as offering to remove Sudan from the State Sponsors of Terrorism List and offering the army assistance once a civilian-led government is in place.