The recent military confrontations between the newly independent South Sudan and Sudan raise questions as to why intensive peacemaking and peacebuilding interventions in this troubled region have not brought an end to war. The focus has been on oil and border demarcations, yet violent conflict is occurring at multiple interlocking levels too often hidden from view. Join us for a talk with Dr. Sarah Nouewn (Cambridge), Ms Benedetta De Alessi (SOAS), and Dr Sharath Srinivasan (CGHR) to discuss related questions such as: What is the likelihood of military escalation into wholesale war between the two Sudans? Why did the Thabo Mbeki led AU High Level Panel mediation effort fail? How do more ‘local’ conflicts in the Blue Nile, Nuba Mountains, Abyei, Darfur, Jonglei and Upper Nile regions relate to this interstate crisis?