A Comparative Analysis of Peace Agreement Implementation: The 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS) and the 2018 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS)

This article conducts a comparative study of the implementation of South Sudan's two principal contemporary peace accords. It examines the structural, political, and institutional factors that have shaped their divergent trajectories. Through a focused comparison of the ARCSS and the R-ARCSS, the analysis identifies persistent obstacles to sustainable peace, including elite intransigence, security sector reform logjams, and the marginalisation of civil society. The study argues that while the R-ARCSS incorporated lessons from the ARCSS's collapse, its implementation has been undermined by similar pathologies, revealing a cyclical pattern of elite bargaining that privileges power-sharing over transformative change. The findings contribute to broader debates on hybrid peace governance and the challenges of post-conflict state-building in Africa.