The Dual Victory: A Strategy for Managing Conflict Through Diplomacy and the Battlefield

By Dr Al-Haytham Al-Kindi Yousif Sudan is facing the greatest test in its modern history today. It is engaged in what the author describes as an existential struggle to dismantle the rebellion on the ground, while simultaneously confronting an intensifying campaign of external pressure aimed at constraining its will and altering the course of the war through diplomatic channels and other forms of what is often termed soft power, following the failure of attempts to achieve those objectives through coercive means. We are therefore witnessing an increase in international initiatives and Western pressure, accompanied by sanctions and proposals for political settlements that place the constitutionally recognised military establishment on an equal footing with the rebel militia. This raises a fundamental question: How can the state respond to external pressure without sacrificing its military gains or losing its popular support at home?