Abstract

Scholars working on the current Darfur crisis have often looked inside the region in search of its causes. Not surprisingly, this approach reduces discussion of the problem to localized indices like drought, environmental degradation, conflicts over local resources and tribalism (see below). This paper departs from this approach for two reasons. Firstly, Darfur is not an isolated region. It is part and parcel of a national structure in which the policies of Khartoum governments have played a great part. Secondly,Darfuris not in anyway unique in its problems. Its plight is shared by other re$ons in Sudan and with which it is intricately connected, Darfur should be seen as an indivisible part of a defective whole that is bedevilled by the hegemony of a favoured segment over the rest of Sudan.