The Intelligence from The Economist
The Intelligence from The Economist

Outsider chance: ending Sudan’s proxy war

August 7, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Sudan’s civil war is now more than three years old, and it is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis—yet it is continuously overshadowed by conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. Millions have been displaced, and possibly hundreds of thousands killed. The national army retook the capital, Khartoum, last year and projects confidence that it will recapture the country soon, but that seems unlikely. Violence continues elsewhere and in places is intensifying. The war is sustained not by the two Sudanese factions alone but by a web of foreign backers who see their own strategic interests in Sudan’s gold, arable land, and Red Sea coastline—and who are determined not to let their local partners lose.

A capital gutted, a country still at war

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (01:10) **Introduction: Sudan's Overlooked Catastrophe** - Jason Polman introduces Sudan's civil war as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, overshadowed by other conflicts.
  • 2 (03:07) **Scene from a Ruined Capital** - Africa correspondent Tom Gardner describes Khartoum as a silent, pitch-black ruin, with vast areas completely devastated.
  • 3 (05:16) **The Military Stalemate and Foreign Backers** - The balance of power and the role of external support that prolongs the war.
  • 4 (06:15) **The Drone War and a Looming Battle** - No part of Sudan is safe from drone strikes, and a key city is under siege.
  • 5 (07:45) **The Humanitarian Crisis in Camps** - Most displaced Sudanese are living in desperate conditions inside the country.
  • 6 (08:43) **Why Foreign Powers Won't Back Down** - The strategic interests driving external involvement in Sudan.
  • 7 (10:10) **The Diplomatic Framework and Its Roadblocks** - The "Quad" (America, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE) aims for a political settlement, but faces enormous obstacles.

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Guests on this episode

Tom Gardner

Show Notes

We look at the peace that has settled over Khartoum, the ruined capital. War rages on elsewhere, and a slim chance at a settlement rests largely with the belligerents’ foreign patrons. We ask why President Donald Trump has picked a fight over a new bridge between Canada and America. And remembering Betye Saar, who provided profound second lives for discarded objects. 


Watch extended clips from Insider here.


Guests and host:

  • Tom Gardner, Africa correspondent
  • Annie Crabill, senior digital editor
  • Ann Wroe, obituaries editor
  • Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”


Topics covered: 

  • Sudan war, proxy war, geopolitics 
  • Canada-America relations, Gordie Howe Bridge
  • Betye Saar, art


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