Rebuilding the Sudanese Political Mind: From Hate Speech to the Civil National State

Eng. Tarig H. Zain El Abdein

The initiative to rebuild and reconstruct the Sudanese political mind represents an urgent national necessity in the context of years of conflict, the militarisation of political life, and the erosion of state institutions. These conditions have contributed to the entrenchment of zero-sum thinking, the proliferation of conspiracy narratives, and the normalisation of violence as a primary instrument for managing political competition. Rebuilding the political mind, therefore, does not merely mean revisiting prevailing ideas; rather, it entails a transition from the logic of personal rule and factional loyalties to a political culture founded upon institutions, citizenship, and accountability.
Addressing hate speech within the framework of the national state is particularly important in Sudan because such discourse has not merely reflected social tensions; it has often become a tool employed by political elites to mobilise supporters along ethnic, tribal, or regional lines. The danger lies in the fact that hate speech does not simply express division—it reproduces and deepens it, undermining the shared sense of national identity and opening the door to the justification of exclusion and violence against the “other”.
One of the most significant challenges facing Sudan today is the need to break the link between political competition and identity politics. When political legitimacy is built upon the demonisation of particular groups, the prospects for establishing a modern civil state that accommodates all citizens are diminished. Confronting hate speech is therefore not merely a moral position; it is a strategic prerequisite for building a national state capable of managing diversity, containing conflicts, and grounding the public sphere in legal and institutional principles rather than hostile mobilisation.
Rebuilding the political mind also requires a critical review of the dominant narratives circulating through the media, educational systems, and religious discourse. As long as these spheres continue to reproduce exclusionary narratives that glorify one group while criminalising another, any constitutional or institutional reform will remain fragile and vulnerable to reversal.
Nor can any sustainable peace project succeed without constructing an inclusive national narrative that acknowledges Sudan’s diversity while rejecting the transformation of that diversity into a permanent basis for division and conflict.
In this context, intellectuals, research centres, and policy institutions have a crucial role to play as actors who can bridge intellectual diagnosis and the development of practical alternatives. By analysing patterns of hate speech, tracing their roots within Sudan’s history and political and economic structures, and proposing legislative, educational, and media-based responses, they can elevate the debate from the level of immediate reactions to that of building a coherent national strategy that strengthens social cohesion and re-establishes the state on more just and inclusive foundations.
Ultimately, confronting hate speech forms part of a broader project to redefine political legitimacy in Sudan. Legitimacy should not be derived from the ability to spread fear or mobilise armed groups; rather, it should stem from the capacity to protect citizens equally, uphold the rule of law, and articulate a shared national vision for the future. From this perspective, working on the Sudanese political mind means working on the very foundation upon which the future Sudanese state will be built: either a state that continues to reproduce exclusion and violence, or an inclusive, accountable, and nationally grounded civil state.

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