Genocide and Famine in Sudan: What’s New? What’s to be Done?

Sudan is suffering famine for the fourth time—at least—in forty years. Darfur region is the location of genocide for the second time in twenty years. Why are these calamities unfolding yet again? Why has the world failed to prevent them? What might be done differently today? As we mark two years since the eruption of Sudan’s latest civil war, join us for a talk with Dr. Alex de Waal, a world-renowned expert on Sudan, who will speak about the region’s history, its people, and the origins of this new round of violence and mass starvation.

Alex de Waal is the executive director of the World Peace Foundation and Research Professor at the Fletcher School, Tufts University. He has worked on the Horn of Africa, and on famine, conflict, and related issues since the 1980s as a researcher and practitioner. He served as a senior advisor to the African Union on Sudan and South Sudan in various capacities. He is the author of numerous studies including, Mass Starvation: The history and future of famine (Polity, 2018) and Sudan’s Unfinished Democracy: The promise and betrayal of a people’s revolution (Hurst, 2022). His next book is Negotiating the Sudans: The African Union High Level Panels 2009-2014 (Cornell University Press, 2025).