The ‘Nuer of Dinka money’ and the demands of the dead: contesting the moral limits of monetised politics in South Sudan

This article explores the meaning of monetary exchanges in politics and political identities during South Sudan’s armed conflicts since 2013, in order to understand whether shifts in the moral meaning of money in politics confer legitimacy to current governmental configurations of power and peace. The authors argue that trading loyalty for monetary reward can assert an acceptance of power, social norms and connected identities, but can also lead to contested moral boundaries that play an important role in remaking political identities and communities.