War of Visions: Conflict of Indentities in the Sudan

Abstract

Identity is used in this book to describe the way individuals and groups define themselves and are defined by others on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, language, and culture. In Africa, as the case of Somalia has so tragically demonstrated, clan , lineage, and family are often vital elements of identity; territory or region as an element of identification overlaps with one or more of these factors and is therefore a complementary or an affirmative consideration. Whatever the determining factors, identity is a concept that gives a deeply rooted psychological and social meaning to the individual in the context of group dynamics. As groups vie for power, material resources, and other values, these dynamics may involve cooperation, competition, or conflict. The source of conflict lies not so much in the fact of differences as in the degree to which the interacting identities and there overriding goals are mutually accommodating or incompatible. In the context of the nation-...