Serving the state at all costs? Being a civil servant in wartime South Sudan

The article narrates how civil servants in South Sudan experienced the recent civil war, the subsequent economic crisis and related state bankruptcy. Despite the complete depreciation of civil servants’ salary and the absence of their payment for several months in a row, the situation did not result in a mass exodus from the civil service or the administration’s collapse. Indeed, the majority of state bureaucrats chose to remain and worked to maintain their position within the administration, which they tried to keep as neutral as possible. This article explores the various reasons and logics that make them remain part of this demonetised state. While exploring ordinary middle-ranking civil servants’ practices, beliefs and long-term projects during wartime, this article not only highlights often unaccounted civil servants’ perceptions and imaginations of the state, but it also demonstrates their role in holding up the state, especially in times of crisis, and their contribution to state-making processes more generally.