South Sudan
Level of Development in South Sudan
Sociological imagination is “the vivid awareness of the relationship between experience and the wider society” (Mills, 1959). It is the ability to see how things interact and influence each other, as well as seeing them socially. A countries level of development is influenced by a number of factors that are related. These factors can be broken down into five categories which are historical, political, environmental, social and economic. In this essay, I will be looking at the level of development of South Sudan and I shall focus on what social factors may have contributed to this phenomenon. Firstly, I will give a brief history of South Sudan, following this; I will give a brief description of the current status of Sudan. Thirdly I will speak about the social factors affecting the development of the region, and lastly I will conclude my essay.
South Sudan became an independent state from Sudan in 2011, and as a result is the newest country to the African continent. According to BBC News Africa (2014), in December 2013, the state went into a crisis when fighting between the president and rebel groups erupted, due to a power struggle between the president and the deputy of which he had fired prior. This killed thousands and made more than 800,000 flee their homes (BBC News Africa, 2014) describes South Sudan as “a land of expensive grassland, swamps and tropical rain forest, straddling both banks of the White Nile.” Foreign affairs, trade and development (2013) says that the region has great amounts of mineral and oil resources, as well as good soils that grow cotton, sesame and wheat and provides a place of grazing for the livestock. However, the region has seen many years of unrest, civil wars, and natural disasters. The situation has left an estimated five million people without homes, in need of great help, and much of the infrastructure broken down.
According to the Encyclopedia of the Nations, “the
Sociological imagination is “the vivid awareness of the relationship between experience and the wider society” (Mills, 1959). It is the ability to see how things interact and influence each other, as well as seeing them socially. A countries level of development is influenced by a number of factors that are related. These factors can be broken down into five categories which are historical, political, environmental, social and economic. In this essay, I will be looking at the level of development of South Sudan and I shall focus on what social factors may have contributed to this phenomenon. Firstly, I will give a brief history of South Sudan, following this; I will give a brief description of the current status of Sudan. Thirdly I will speak about the social factors affecting the development of the region, and lastly I will conclude my essay.
South Sudan became an independent state from Sudan in 2011, and as a result is the newest country to the African continent. According to BBC News Africa (2014), in December 2013, the state went into a crisis when fighting between the president and rebel groups erupted, due to a power struggle between the president and the deputy of which he had fired prior. This killed thousands and made more than 800,000 flee their homes (BBC News Africa, 2014) describes South Sudan as “a land of expensive grassland, swamps and tropical rain forest, straddling both banks of the White Nile.” Foreign affairs, trade and development (2013) says that the region has great amounts of mineral and oil resources, as well as good soils that grow cotton, sesame and wheat and provides a place of grazing for the livestock. However, the region has seen many years of unrest, civil wars, and natural disasters. The situation has left an estimated five million people without homes, in need of great help, and much of the infrastructure broken down.
According to the Encyclopedia of the Nations, “the