When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

You've reached your limit of one free article.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime .

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Exclusive International news coverage

Ad-free experience NEW

Weekly digital Magazine NEW

9 daily & weekly Newsletters

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Free trial

30-days free access, then $2.90
per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
Geopolitics

Violence In Sudan, And One More Democratic Uprising In Vain

More than a decade after the Arab Spring gave hope of a wave of democracy in North Africa and beyond, the violence that has erupted in Sudan squashes hope in that troubled nation of a democratic future.

​Image of a man on his motorcycle in Khartoum, Sudan, driving away from smoke.

A smoke-filled street in Khartoum, Sudan.

Sudan News/Twitter
Pierre Haski

-Analysis-

PARIS — A few months ago, when we still wanted to believe that the Arab Spring was not completely dead, we were careful about mentioning Sudan and Tunisia. News was coming in from Tunisia, where that wave of democratic revolutions had begun more than a decade ago, that the North African country had taken a worrying authoritarian turn with President Kaïs Saïed. And now in Sudan, violence has erupted over the past two days between two military branches that has left dozens dead.

Sudan, a huge country bridging both the Arab and African worlds, joined the second wave of democratic uprisings in 2018. The country had been under the rule of an Islamist dictator, Omar Al-Bashir, for three decades. The impressive demonstrations led by all segments of society led to Bashir being overthrown by the army in 2019.

Since then, Sudan has been trying to find a path between the demands of its active and well-structured civil society and the army, which refuses to yield power. On Saturday, a showdown broke out between two armed forces. Among the victims were many civilians and aid workers caught in the crossfire.

Two strong men at the head of a country is one too many. The same goes for two armies.


The confrontation was triggered by the Rapid Support Forces, a militia led by General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, better known as Hemeti; a man accused in the past of abuses in Darfur and of murdering protesters in Khartoum.

UAE and Wagner Group links

Hemeti is also linked to the United Arab Emirates, to whom he provided men in exchange for payment to fight in Yemen, and to Russia's Wagner Group mercenary outfit, with whom he has business ties.

It's a fight to the death for power.

His target: another general, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, the head of the regular army, who first came to power during the removal of the dictator in 2019. He then regained control in 2021, with the approval of his friend, Egypt's strongman leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Since then, he has renegotiated a compromise with the civilians, but the process is at a standstill.

In Sudanese cities today, it's a fight to the death for power between two men, two military clans.

Image of \u201cKandaka,\u201d or Nubian queen, talking to a crowd during a protest in Sudan.

“Kandaka,” or Nubian queen, became a symbol of the pro-democracy protests in Sudan.

@lan_hago/Twitter

Born in Tunisia

But these new conflicts risk undoing four years of democratic uprising. Sudanese civil society is very strong, with powerful professional organizations, such as those of doctors and engineers, but it has always been up against a military force that does not want to surrender its power or economic advantages.

For over a decade, aspirations for freedom, born in Tunisia in 2011, have faced numerous obstacles. Islamist control, conservative counter-revolution, civil wars, disillusionment of populations — indeed, the reasons for failure are numerous.

In Tunisia, as in Sudan, civil society has not had the necessary strength or coherence to succeed — and two more countries join the growing list of democratic experiments that have failed.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Geopolitics

Why The World Still Needs U.S. Leadership — With An Assist From China

Twenty years of costly interventions and China's economic ascent have robbed the United States of its global supremacy. It is time for the two biggest powers to work together, to help the world.

Photograph of Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden walking side by side in the Filoli Estate in the U.S. state of California​

Nov. 15, 2023: Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden take a walk after their talks in the Filoli Estate in the U.S. state of California

Xinhua/ZUMA
María Ángela Holguín*

-Analysis-

BOGOTÁ — The United States is facing a complex moment in its history, as it loses its privileged place in the world. Since the Second World War, it has been the world's preeminent power in economic and political terms, helping rebuild Europe after the war and through its growing economy, aiding the development of a significant part of the world.

For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, Worldcrunch Today is the only truly international newsletter. Sign up here.

Its model of democracy, long considered exemplary around the world, has gone through a rough patch, thanks to excessive polarization and discord. This has cost it a good deal of its leadership, unity and authority.

How much authority does it have to chide certain countries on democracy, as it does, after such outlandish incidents as the assault on Congress in January 2021? The fights we have seen over electing a new speaker of the House of Representatives or backing the administration's foreign policy are simply incredible.

In Ukraine's case, President Biden failed to win support for the aid package for which he was hoping, even if there is a general understanding that if Russia wins this war, Europe's stability would be at risk. It would mean the victory of a longstanding enemy.

Keep reading...Show less

The latest