Sudan has been at war with itself for the last forty years, except for a ten-year period of peace from 1972 to 1983. This book traces the root causes of the Sudanese conflict: the remnants of slave culture and the rift between North and South, exacerbated by a conflict of culture and religion. Despite past divisions, the author identifies new points of departure in the conflict, particularly after the agreement reached by John Garang de Marbos in the South and the leadership of the Northern parties. The main tenets of this agreement are: recognition of the country's religious and cultural diversity, separation between religion and the state, recognition of citizenship as the sole determinant of political rights and duties, and radical restructuring of the state as a quasi-confederal state. The author avers that these measures hold the last chance for Sudan to be united.