The Concept of the “Civil State” in the Constitution and Political Charters of Sudan
On 30 June 1989, Omar Hassan al-Bashir staged a coup with fellow military officers against the democratically elected government of Sudan. Bashir subsequently arrested the Prime Minister, detained political leaders, and dissolved political parties, declaring himself president. In 2019, after 30 years in power, Bashir himself was ousted in a military coup. From 2019 to 2021 Sudan underwent a transitional period, during which political and civil forces, in collaboration with military leaders, reached an agreement to establish a transitional government designed to pave the way for the formation of a democratic civilian government. These principles were formalised in a political agreement signed in 2019 by representatives of the military and various political parties.
Throughout the transitional period, public demonstrations called for the establishment of a “civil state.” For protesters, a civil state represented principles of equality, the elimination of religious discrimination, the withdrawal of the military from political life, and the subjection of military institutions to civilian oversight. As a result, political and legal documents from the transitional period reflect the aspirations of the revolutionary movement to institutionalise a civil state. However, the concept itself lacked a clear and consistent definition among the political elite.
Over time, the notion of the civil state evolved within transitional constitutional and political texts, as growing recognition emerged regarding the necessity to entrench its foundational principles, particularly as a prerequisite for achieving sustainable democracy in Sudan. Nevertheless, evidence from the transitional period indicates that the discourse surrounding the civil state was driven more by political considerations than by a coherent or long-term vision for establishing a democratic civil government.
Click here to read the article in English