Youth Culture, Refugee (Re)integration, and Diasporic Identities in South Sudan

Abstract

In post-conflict South Sudan, the cultural practices and identities of youth are increasingly being shaped by multiple cultural flows that are simultaneously local and global. The relative stability that has characterised this young nation since the 2005 ceasefire has facilitated the return of significant numbers of displaced persons who are now striving to reintegrate in the society they fled years ago. From their long years in exile, returnee youth are importing different cultural orientations that reveal the salience of style and group membership as central bases for identity formation and social belonging. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in South Sudan, Egypt and Uganda, this paper examines the various identities and youth cultures adopted and re-constructed by returnee youth now living in Juba, South Sudan.