Legal transformation in Northern Africa and South Sudan

In 2011, two significant historical events occurred on the African Continent; namely, the popular uprisings in North African countries, which have widely become known as the "Arab Spring", and the formal independence of South Sudan, Africa's youngest state just founded in July of last year. Both major developments--the upheaval and the referendum for independence--initiated various legal processes in response to the countries' respective political and socio-economic challenges. Despite different evolutionary concepts, the political upheavals in countries like Egypt and Libya are mirrored similarities to South Sudan in how to deal with institution-building, constitution-making and its process, the role and rule of law in a nation-state, national and international conflict resolution mechanisms, and the involvement of a multitude of actors in the process of legal transformation.