Since July 9, 2011, South Sudan is an independent country. The split of Sudan was probably the only possible outcome of a long history of marginalization, oppression and war, but will it be enough to create a stable and durable peace? Separation in itself doesn’t seem to fully address the people's claim for a more equitable and representative governance. While the North is trapped by a combination of armed uprisings and economic crisis, with the "Arab spring" looming at a nottoo-distant horizon, the South is faced by the huge challenges of state-building and by the need to establish a full sovereignty after having attained formal independence.