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Publications

Publications

The Institute publishes books, research reports, research papers, briefings and meeting reports in a range of formats. Publications cover policy, research, arts, culture and local knowledge in the countries of eastern and central Africa. Research publications—books, reports and papers—are peer-reviewed. Some RVI publications are also available in French and/or Arabic. Blogs can be read here.

The RVI is a signatory of the Budapest Open Access Initiative (2001); all publications are free for download in PDF format under Creative Commons licences. Print versions of most books and reports, and digital versions in Kindle and other specialist formats, are available for sale from Amazon and other online retailers, and from selected bookstores. Proceeds from sales are allocated to the Institute's Scholarship Fund, which provides support to researchers and activists from eastern and central Africa.

The views expressed in books and reports published by the RVI are those of the authors, not the Institute.

South Sudan’s food imports in the time of COVID-19
x-border project
Sudan and South Sudan
Briefings
South Sudan’s food imports in the time of COVID-19
By
Edward Thomas
2020
South Sudan's food system in the time of COVID-19 by Edward Thomas - RVI X-Border Project (2020).pdf

The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) of 2020 is likely to have profound effects on stressed food systems in already hungry countries. Even before South Sudan reported its first COVID-19 case at the beginning of April, media reports indicated that the pandemic had led to restrictions on the movement of goods from neighbouring countries, which affected prices in markets across the country. In…

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Grains As Life: The value of sorghum and millet amongst the Abyei Dinka
x-border project
Sudan and South Sudan
Briefings
Grains As Life: The value of sorghum and millet amongst the Abyei Dinka
By
Deng Kuol
2020
Grains As Life by Deng Kuol - RVI X-Border Project (2020).pdf

Displaced Tastes is a research project run by the Rift Valley Institute in partnership with the Catholic University of South Sudan under the X-Border Local Research Network. The project examines the changing tastes for food in South Sudan in the context of the country’s economic transition and place in the regional, cross-border economy of grain. In this piece, Deng Kuol explains the…

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'You Can Now Get Engaged': Meanings of cassava among the Pojulu of South Sudan
x-border project
Sudan and South Sudan
Briefings
'You Can Now Get Engaged': Meanings of cassava among the Pojulu of South Sudan
By
Luga Aquila
2020
You Can Now Get Engaged by Luga Aquila - RVI X-Border Project (2020).pdf

Displaced Tastes is a research project run by the Rift Valley Institute in partnership with the Catholic University of South Sudan under the X-Border Local Research Network. The project examines the changing tastes for food in South Sudan in the context of the country’s economic transition and place in the regional, cross-border economy of grain. In this piece, Luga Aquila explores…

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Migrating with Seeds: Women, agricultural knowledge and displacement in South Sudan
x-border project
Sudan and South Sudan
Briefings
Migrating with Seeds: Women, agricultural knowledge and displacement in South Sudan
By
Elizabeth Nyibol
2020
Migrating with seeds by Elizabeth Nyibol - RVI X-Border Project (2020)_0.pdf

Displaced Tastes is a research project run by the Rift Valley Institute in partnership with the Catholic University of South Sudan under the X-Border Local Research Network. The project examines the changing tastes for food in South Sudan in the context of the country’s economic transition and place in the regional, cross-border economy of grain. In this piece, Elizabeth Nyibol…

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Towards a common research agenda
Horn of Africa
Research Papers
Towards a common research agenda
By
2020
Towards a common research agenda - Synthesis paper (2020).pdf

Towards a common research agenda: A research synthesis paper to inform the implementation of the Global Refugee Compact is designed to inform future policy making and programming in relation to Ethiopian government and international support to refugees. Specifically, it aspires to enable the development of a common narrative among the key refugee stakeholders in Ethiopia about how…

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How Sudan's gold boom is changing labour relations in Blue Nile state
x-border project
Sudan and South Sudan
Briefings
How Sudan's gold boom is changing labour relations in Blue Nile state
By
Mohamed Salah, Enrico Ille
2020
How Sudan's gold boom is changing labour relations in Blue Nile state by Mohamed Salah and Enrico Ille - RVI X-Border Project (2020).pdf

Sudan’s Blue Nile state, which borders Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz region on its eastern side, and South Sudan’s Upper Nile region on its south-west frontier, has a long history of small-scale artisanal gold mining. Gold is found in the region’s hills and in the alluvial planes south of the Blue Nile. In Blue Nile, artisanal gold mining has historically been a communal or household activity—…

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Rethinking Aid in Borderland Spaces: The case of Akobo
x-border project
Sudan and South Sudan
Research Reports
Rethinking Aid in Borderland Spaces
By
Freddie Carver
2020
Rethinking aid in borderland spaces by Freddie Carver - RVI X-Border Project (2020).pdf

Taking the Ethiopia-South Sudan borderlands as a case study, Rethinking Aid in Borderland Spaces: The case of Akobo argues that the traditional modalities of the aid industry are not fit for purpose in a world where transnationalism is a daily reality for communities, even—perhaps even especially—in the most geographically remote locations. The transnational networks that shape much…

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ثورة العيش
x-border project
Sudan and South Sudan
Briefings
ثورة العيش
By
Edward Thomas, Magdi el-Gizouli
2020
ثورة العيش (2020).pdf

This briefing is also available in English.

 

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‘No one can stay without someone’
Sudan and South Sudan
Research Reports
‘No one can stay without someone’
By
2020
No one can stay without someone - RVI Report (2020)_0.pdf

Over the last 50 years, the various conflicts afflicting South Sudan have caused massive displacements of people. Latest estimates suggest there are more than 1.5 million internally displaced people (IDPs) within the country’s borders, with another 2.2 million refugees displaced outside the country, as a result of the most recent conflicts. Policymakers generally see these populations as…

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Understanding Hussein Abdel Bagi: South Sudan’s vice-president from the borderlands
x-border project
Sudan and South Sudan
Briefings
Understanding Hussein Abdel Bagi: South Sudan’s vice-president from the borderlands
By
2020
Understanding Hussein Abdel Bagi - RVI X-Border Briefing (2020).pdf
Key points

• Hussein Abdel Bagi’s appointment as the third Vice-President of South Sudan is an important building block for the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU), particularly its relations with Khartoum. Hussein’s long experience of Sudanese politics, and friendships with members of the Sudan Military Council, will likely be very useful to President Kiir.

• Abdel Bagi…

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