Framing Education-Civicness-Social Contract Nexus in Africa? The Case of South Sudan

This article attempts to position education not only in the peacebuilding debate but also in the larger good governance debate about what makes a resilient social contract. We subscribe in this paper to a theoretical perspective that attributes the driver of civil wars to governance deficit that is manifested in absence of resilient social contract in terms of sustained agreement between citizens and state. We then ask the key question of whether and how education is linked to a resilient social contract. We found a wealth of evidence linking education and peacebuilding, and education and civicness, but a gap exists in the literature about the link between education and social contract. On the basis of a thorough review of theory and research on education, civicness, and social contract, we develop a theoretical framework to conceptually frame the nexus between education, civicness, resilient social contract, and sustainable peace. This framework is founded on the theory of state formation. Applying this framework to the case of South Sudan, we found that education through civicness makes students become key political stakeholders and more likely nurture a resilient social contract, which in turn sustains peace. The very low level of educated population in South Sudan might have contributed, among other factors, to limited demand for good governance that contributes to governance deficit, which perpetuates poor state-society relations, ineffective and exclusive institutions, and erosion of social cohesion, and interpersonal trust, factors central to resilient social contract.