By the mid-1980s, Sudan's economy, society and political framework were on the point of disintegration. Civil war was exacerbating the effects of an already major famine. An unpopular government was resorting to ever more extreme measures in order to remain in power. The imposition of a particularly oppressive and hash interpretation of sharia law was heightening racial and religious tensions. Internationally, Sudan was faced by a debt crisis which was apparently insoluble, and which threatened to undermine completely what was left of the economy. This book, first published in 1988, examines the complex economic and social processes which led to this situation - emphasising the part played by the state itself. The book combines detailed multi-disciplinary analyses of Sudan in the post-colonial era with a consideration of possibilities for the future.

1. Introduction: The Sudanese Crisis and the Future Tony Barnett 2. The State and Agricultural Policy: In Quest of a Framework for Analysis of Development Strategies Taisier Mohammed Ahmed Ali 3. Sudanese Government Attitudes Towards Foreign Investment - Theory and Practice Hassan Gad Karim 4. The IMF and Sudanese Economic Policy Mohammed Nureldin Hussein 5. A Background Note on the Final Round of Economic Austerity Measures Imposed by the Numeiry Regime: June 1984 - March 1985 Richard Brown 6. The Jonglei Scheme: The Contrast between Government and Dinka Views on Development George Tombe Lako 7. On Becoming Sudanese Paul Doornbos 8. Towards an Understanding of Islamic Banking in Sudan: The Case of the Faisal Islamic Bank Elfatih Shaaeldin and Richard Brown 9. Some Aspects of Commoditisation and Transformation in Rural Sudan Abbas Abdelkarim 10. The Encroachment of Large Scale Mechanised Agriculture: Elements of Differentiation Among the Peasantry Abdalla Mohammed Elhassan 11. The Emergence and Expansion of the Urban Wage-Labour Market in Colonial Khartoum Salah El-Din El-Shazali Ibrahim