Vulnerable South Sudan and its Impact on Ethiopia’s Regional Security Policy

Abstract

This article examines the actual and potential issues that determine the contemporary and future interstate relationship between Ethiopia and South Sudan within the context of regional security policy. It also anticipates the future challenges Ethiopia’s regional security policy will face regarding South Sudan. The article adopted qualitative methods of data collection. The key informants were selected by employing non-probability sampling: purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Relevant documents were collected to validate the data obtained from key informant interviews. Primary and secondary sources were consulted to answer the crux of the study. Accordingly, primary data was generated from security officers from the military and the police sectors, military officials, civilians, and intelligence community members. Primary data was also generated from government and non-governmental reports and archival documents. The article argues that South Sudan will remain a litmus test for Ethiopia’s regional security policy in so far as the former cannot escape from its fragility, its vulnerability to Egypt’s foreign policy demarche, and the spillover effect of the insecurity situation of the state on Gambella.