The article explores how South Sudan's political elite have maintained power by integrating war economies into peace agreements.Despite formal independence in 2011, the country has experienced repeated cycles of conflict and failed peace deals.

The author argues that peace agreements often preserve systems that make violence profitable, such as coercive revenue collection and resource extraction.These systems, which include taxation, oil revenues, and forced labor, are enforced through military and security forces.The analysis shows that peace processes redistribute access to resources among elites while keeping wartime structures intact.This creates a 'predatory peace' where violence shifts from battlefields to revenue systems, with civilians bearing the cost.

The article highlights how political settlements in South Sudan, like those in Angola and the DRC, prioritize elite control over public goods, perpetuating cycles of conflict and corruption.