Formation of the national political elites in Sudan in the Interbellum

Abstract

This work aims to study the formation of national elites in Sudan in the interbellum as this very period predetermined the countrys history since gaining independence in 1956. Within this article relations between three main groups are considered, namely religious, military and civil elites. The study is divided into three main parts. The first one concentrates on the history of Sudan before 1918, the second one is devoted to the interwar period, the third part aims to study the development of Sudan in World War II and the first post-war years. The special emphasis is given to the Sufi Tariqas as being not only religious but firstly political institutions. Directly within the context of Tariqas political and social influence, this article aims to study the formation of movements, political parties and associations, whose representatives later entered the political authority of the country. The Sudanese specifics of the national elites formation studied in this work is that the conservative religious elites managed to maintain the leading position within the struggle between traditional and modern political powers. The work explains how the inner nature of these elites, as well as their relations with the military and civil elites, predetermined the subsequent events.