Introduction

In Chapter 1 it was argued that the Nuba Mountains region of South Kordofan is a typical case of a marginalized region in contemporary Sudan. It demonstrated the unequal and exploitative forms of relations between the periphery and the centre within an overall socio-spatial system and the consequences of the multi-dimensional marginalization process through disguised and distorted forms of development that are linked, but not restricted, to mechanized rain-fed farming and oil exploitation with excessive land grabbing and alienation by the state.

Although it is evident that land is a contributing factor to the marginalization and, consequently, to the conflict in the Sudan in general and in the Nuba Mountains in particular, this chapter takes a broader perspective to demonstrate that the role of the land question in marginalization and conflict is in itself a result of cumulative processes of precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial social, economic and political dynamics underlying the overall Sudanese nation-building project.

This chapter is not intended to provide a systematic and comprehensive study of historical and current land legislation developments. Instead, it will consider some milestones in Sudanese land legislation, tenure policies, and politics, with a focus on their possible contribution to the current conflicts and civil wars in the Sudan.