Political Instability and Its Impact on Human Resource Policies at the Local Government, Eastern Equatoria State-Torit, Juba, South Sudan

Political Instability and Its Impact on Human Resource Policies at the Local Government, Eastern Equatoria State-Torit, Juba, South Sudan | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Political Instability and Its Impact on Human Resource Policies at the Local Government, Eastern Equatoria State-Torit, Juba, South Sudan Namwang Stephen Karlo, Mary Odenyo, Oduho George Ben Soforon, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8996796/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study investigates the profound impact of political instability on human resource (HR) policies within local government in Eastern Equatoria State, South Sudan, a nation grappling with persistent conflict and fragile governance. Drawing on Institutional Theory (DiMaggio & Powell, 2022 ; Adedoyin, F.F. et al., 2022), the research employs a conceptual framework (Fig. 1) that posits political instability, encompassing government disruption, conflict intensity, policy inconsistency, and security challenges, as key drivers of weakened HR policy formulation, implementation, and stability. Employing a phenomenological research design, this study captures the lived experiences of local government officials, revealing how these factors lead to a systemic breakdown in HRM. Findings highlight the erosion of institutional foundations, rampant politicization of appointments, severe delays in salary payments, and diminished staff motivation, ultimately hindering staff retention and policy continuity. Government capacity is identified as a crucial moderating variable, with its decline exacerbating these challenges. The study concludes that without immediate stabilization of salary payments, strengthening of merit-based recruitment, enhanced security for personnel, and rebuilding of institutional capacity, effective governance and service delivery remain elusive. Recommendations focus on integrating HRM with peacebuilding, fostering transparency, and prioritizing administrative functions to cultivate a more stable and motivated civil service. Political Instability Human Resource Policies Government Capacity Policy Implementation Conflict Intensity and Staff Motivation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8996796","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":598996329,"identity":"b04a24f1-98af-4cdb-a33a-008dd984e6df","order_by":0,"name":"Namwang Stephen Karlo","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Kampala International University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Namwang","middleName":"Stephen","lastName":"Karlo","suffix":""},{"id":598996331,"identity":"203699dd-57e0-4783-a6a3-b67cbdb26e5c","order_by":1,"name":"Mary Odenyo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Kampala International University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mary","middleName":"","lastName":"Odenyo","suffix":""},{"id":598996337,"identity":"98f87d04-4be0-408a-8764-ceb9e1a4732e","order_by":2,"name":"Oduho George Ben Soforon","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Oduho","middleName":"George Ben","lastName":"Soforon","suffix":""},{"id":598996339,"identity":"9d19e563-fef8-4b63-94eb-3c4995075711","order_by":3,"name":"Benjamin Okwahi Lauro Ayahu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Benjamin","middleName":"Okwahi Lauro","lastName":"Ayahu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-28 16:23:27","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8996796/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8996796/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105405403,"identity":"3b45f92a-b1f0-4331-9f47-ddfbb2da28c9","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-25 16:11:59","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":505996,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"PoliticalinstabilityanditsimpactonHumanResourcepolicies1.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8996796/v1_covered_1c3804bc-1190-429c-9b8a-88feb4de7bcb.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Political Instability and Its Impact on Human Resource Policies at the Local Government, Eastern Equatoria State-Torit, Juba, South Sudan","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Political Instability, Human Resource Policies, Government Capacity, Policy Implementation, Conflict Intensity, and Staff Motivation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8996796/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8996796/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study investigates the profound impact of political instability on human resource (HR) policies within local government in Eastern Equatoria State, South Sudan, a nation grappling with persistent conflict and fragile governance. Drawing on Institutional Theory (DiMaggio \u0026amp; Powell, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Adedoyin, F.F. et al., 2022), the research employs a conceptual framework (Fig.\u0026nbsp;1) that posits political instability, encompassing government disruption, conflict intensity, policy inconsistency, and security challenges, as key drivers of weakened HR policy formulation, implementation, and stability. Employing a phenomenological research design, this study captures the lived experiences of local government officials, revealing how these factors lead to a systemic breakdown in HRM. Findings highlight the erosion of institutional foundations, rampant politicization of appointments, severe delays in salary payments, and diminished staff motivation, ultimately hindering staff retention and policy continuity. Government capacity is identified as a crucial moderating variable, with its decline exacerbating these challenges. 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