Southern Sudan Has A Clear Choice on its Ballots, a Harder Choice for a New Name

The Sudan referendum is Sunday, and virtually everyone, North and South, expects southern secession. The ballot is about as simple as it can be, for a country with limited literacy: a single hand for separation, clasped hands for unity, along with the words in Arabic and English:


The real question is not the referendum results, but what follows.

And here's an interesting question: What will the new country choose to call itself? "Southern Sudan" and "New Sudan" have been suggested, but they seem derivative and will lead to confusion with the country they have left. North and South Korea both insist on being Korea, as the former North and South Vietnam, East and West Germany, and North and South Yemen did on being Vietnamese and German and Yemeni (with perhaps an asterisk on the last of these), but they were distinct nations divided by history, ideology, and war: the whole point is that Southern Sudanese have never felt an affinity with the Arab North, and thus would perhaps prefer a distinct identity. (Since "Sudan" is Arabic for "country of the blacks," some might claim the South has a better claim to it, but they are unlikely to want to use an Arabic name which, in its origins, was at least a bit dismissive.)

"Nile Republic" or something similar has been bounced around for years, but might raise objections from all the other Nilotic states. Only the White Nile runs through the South. The link above notes the problems of naming created by FYROM — "the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" — since Greece claims to own the name "Macedonia" by itself. Anything evoking the Nile might lead to similar complaints. "Upper Nile Republic" might work. "White Nile Republic" might have unfortunate connotations.

"Cush" or "Kush" has been floating around, too, and might work as a historical evocation if you remember that, for example, Ghana and Mali aren't in the exact locations of the ancient states of those names either. Equatoria is a historical name for parts of the deep south, but not all of the new state, though it's been suggested. This blogpost suggests Anyidi and even Juwama, the latter a combination of the first letters of the provincial capitals, which seems pretty obscure.

When the US declared its independence there was disagreement about what the country should be called, but the Declaration of Independence, perhaps without intending to, had been headed "The UNANIMOUS DECLARATION of the thirteen united STATES OF AMERICA," which, despite the lower case "united," had a ring to it.

For now I'll call it the New Kid on the Block, but as soon as they figure out the name, that'll be fine.

Whatever they call themselves, they've fought a long time, and I'm not sure they're quite there yet, but I wish them well.