Regional Inequality in the Sudan Essay Example

made during this long time period that has led Sudan to be the severely polarized nation that it is.

What is so significant about this is that Roden pays proper attention to the fact that there are a multitude of factors involved when speaking of the economic state of a nation.This is the thing that Roden takes great pains to outline, from each opposing political party, military coup, power struggle within parliament, warring factions of government, and religious discrimination to the different economic plans made in the past and the areas they focused on, where the money was concentrated, the kinds of crops and exports it was decided to focus expenses on, even just the basic physical climate of the different regions (soil, rainfall, etc. ). Roden lays down a very detailed framework in order for his readers to more fully understand the why behind why Sudan has experienced such a polarized economy.

And this kind of background information is invaluable to the reader’s understanding of Roden’s argument as well. Someone reading this who might not be that familiar with economist theory might just see the basic argument of “unchecked expansion in one region can lead to an adverse effect in surrounding regions” and think to themselves, “Then why not just throw some more money at those surrounding regions and then everything should be okay, right? ” What Roden sets the groundwork for is the very harsh reality that it is simply not that simple.By taking in this detailed historical inventory of the various different political and economic climates the Sudan has experienced over the past 100 years’ time, it becomes increasingly obvious that there is

nothing simple about the solution to this problem…much like so many other things, the economic problems facing this country are incredibly complex and deeply entrenched in a socio-political, racial, religion, governmental, and climate-based issues that have been a part of the country far into the country’s past, so much so that the culture of thought and the cultural practices cannot simply be undone in one fell swoop with the intention of reforming the country’s disparate economic state.Roden’s approach is one that is very necessary to understanding the plight of Sudan and the reasons why it is suffering in the way that it is. As I have already noted, there are so many very different factors contributing to the current economic state and disparity in Sudan that it would be irresponsible not to address each and every one of them and how one informs the other. It is a vicious circle of poverty and inequality that seems nearly impossible (though not completely) for the country to break free from.

I believe that, as a result of this plethora of background information and detailed historical analysis, Roden has more than supported his argument—he has more or less made it inarguable. After reading this article, it would be foolish to try to make a case for a counterargument or alternative explanation as to why this regional inequality exists. Roden’s approach was certainly necessary to prove his point; my only concern with it is that it is such a tremendous wealth of information being rapid-fired at the reader at a rate faster than can be comprehended by someone who is not as familiar with the situation in Sudan as Roden

himself his (and he quite clearly is).It was quite a bit of highly detailed historical and political information to absorb, and at some points the reader can become so involved with the story of Sudan’s background and history that it can be easy to lose sight of what the greater argument at hand is. At some points Roden lost control of his focus, allowing himself to get too deeply involved with the history lesson and not coming back up for “air” to remind the reader of how this all relates to his initial argument.

After reading through all of the material, it is fairly clear how all of the different dots that Roden pointed out are connected, but it can become somewhat confusing and jumbled for the reader to maintain focus.Overall, I feel that Roden had done a tremendous job at outlining the very complicated reasons why there is such regional inequality and economic disparity in the Republic of Sudan. It is a very complicated issue that demands to be treated with the utmost attention to detail and with respect for the history of the region and the various political climates that have existed there over the years that have contributed to the current economic state. While his wealth of information presented was at times almost too much, it was still very necessary in order to gain a more thorough understanding of why the Sudan has experienced this level of economic polarization and continues to spiral more and more to the counter-extremes of prosperity and poverty.