American Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research (AJHSSR) 2025 AJHSSR Journal Page | 76 American Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research (AJHSSR) e-ISSN :2378-703X Volume-09, Issue-01, pp-76-85 www.ajhssr.com Research Paper Open Access Politics of Identity and Conflict Resolution in Central Equatorial (Juba), South Sudan. Dr Abeera Odetha Katuramu. Senior Lecturer of International Relations & Diplomacy, Department of Political & Administrative Studies- Kampala International University, Kampala-Uganda. ABSTRACT : The study sought to examine the impact of politics of identity on Conflict Resolution in the context of Central Equatorial (Juba), South Sudan. This studyemployed a descriptive survey design; this involvedassessing of the characteristics of a particularindividual, and or a group. It determined the effectbetween variables and the relationshipbetween variables. The design waschosenbecauseitenabled the researcher to obtain information needed for the study;alsoithelped the researcher to focus on a single unit of study. In this case, the studytargeted a population of about 25,000 people of whichincluded;NGOs, Governmentofficialsfrom the ministry of internal affairs, local community members, INGO sofficials, religious leaders and local community leaders. The sample size of 315 respondentswasdeterminedusingSolvene‟s formula. The studyemployedboth interviews and questionnaire surveymethods for data collection. The collected data wasanalyzedusing SPSS in tabularform in terms of means of percentages, means and standard deviations. From the findings, the studyfound out that the politics of identitysignificantlyintersectwithconflictresolution efforts. Thesefindingsemphasize the need for inclusive dialogue and strategiesthatacknowledge diverse identities, as fostering a sense of commonalitywhilerespectingindividualityemerges as a pivotal approach in conflictresolution. The studythoughconcludedthattherewas a positive correlationbetween the two variables highlights the interplaybetweenidentity-drivendynamics and pathways to resolvingconflicts. The studyhoweverrecommendsthatthereisneed to encourage political leaders to adoptpoliciesthatemphasizeinclusivity and equalrepresentation for all identity groups in decision- makingprocesses, as this can help mitigate feelings of exclusion and reduce the potential for identity- basedconflicts. It wasalsorecommendedthatthereisneed to implementeducational programs thatraiseawareness about the dangers of usingidentitypolitics to manipulate public sentiment. KEYWORDS : Politics,Politics of Identity, Conflict, Conflict Resolution, Central Equatorial, Juba, South Sudan. I. INTRODUCTION Globally, conflicts are as old as human societies themselves (Carter and Connor, 2019). And the world is a violent place and for various political, economic, religious, ethnic and other reasons, war and conflict are inevitable (Carter and Connor, 2019). Historically, individuals, social groups and societies have disputed and competed against one another over scarce commodities and resources, for instance, land, money, political power, and ideology. They have even fought one another and bitterly sought the elimination and/or subjugation of rivals, in order to control these resources and commodities. But at the same time, human societies and groups have found their own ways and means for averting and/or resolving conflicts. The existing body of literature confirms that the nature and causes of conflicts and the mechanisms for resolving them are deeply rooted in the culture and history of every society. These mechanisms for resolving conflicts are in many important ways unique to each community (Baxi and Gallanter, 2019). In the late twentieth century, ethnicity and ethnic conflict captivate the world's attention like perhaps no other social phenomenon on earth. Even "peaceful" societies like the United States are not immune to it, although it only infrequently erupts into open conflict and violence and then only briefly (Deng FM, Gifford P (2015). Countries like Afghanistan, India, Syria, and Iraq just to mention a few are not excluded from this reality of violent conflict in the recent years. No continent in the world has ever faced many challenges as Africa in the recent years. One of the challenges affecting this continent is violent conflict. The high level of prevalence of civil wars and violent conflicts in Africa is attributed to ethnic diversity. Though ethnicity by itself is not a