In January 2011, the people of Southern Sudan voted to secede from the
Republic of Sudan, and the country divided into two states in July. While
the government in Khartoum has favored a united Sudan, there is considerable
variation among Northern Sudanese in their views on partition. This paper
explores the determinants of this variation, using an original panel survey of
1380 respondents designed and implemented by the authors in greater Khartoum
in the fall of 2010 and the fall of 2011. We ask whether individuals’
exposure to North-South violence shapes their views on partition. We find that
Northerners who personally experienced rioting by Southerners in Khartoum
in 2005 are more likely to support secession of the South but less likely to favor
allowing Southerners to retain citizenship in the North. Considered together,
these results suggest that experiences of inter-group violence harden attitudes
toward members of the other group and make those exposed less willing to live
together within a multi-ethnic state.