Key messages
■ Livelihoods were in a precarious state in South Sudan even before the outbreak of the current armed conflict in December 2013. The assumption was that conflict had been the factor driving vulnerability, and that after the civil war recovery would take off. But this recovery largely did not occur, especially in Jonglei, where localized conflict continued.
■ Localized conflict was driven more by politics, control of livestock, and cycles of retribution than competition over land and water resources. The limited attempts to link livelihoods to peacebuilding were based on an incomplete analysis.
■ Future livelihood reconstruction should be based on much more localised and deeper analysis of conflict, inter-communal grievances and inter-communal relations.