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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.

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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Greater Horn of Africa Cross-Border Learning Conference
Horn of Africa
Greater Horn of Africa Cross-Border Learning Conference
By
2020
Greater Horn of Africa Cross-Border Learning Conference (2020).pdf

The Greater Horn of Africa’s (GHoA) borders and borderlands are spaces of cooperation and linkage—marked by centuries of cross-border trade and extensive kinship and social ties—that defy political demarcation and control. Borders and borderlands share numerous security and development challenges, including conflict, crime, trafficking and political and economic contestations. Even though the…

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La gouvernance de la sécurité locale à l'est du Congo
Great Lakes
Research Reports
La gouvernance de la sécurité locale à l'est du Congo
By
Michel Thill, Abel Cimanuka
2020
La gouvernance de la securite locale a l'est du Congo par Michel Thill et Abel Cimanuka - RVI et VNGi Report (2020).pdf

En 2019, le gouvernement congolais s'est engagé à relancer la réforme de la police après l'arrêt d'un programme pilote en 2014 en raison de violations des droits de l'homme commises par la Police Nationale Congolaise. Pendant ce temps, le gouvernement du Sud-Kivu a appelé à la création de Conseils locaux pour la sécurité de proximité (CLSP) à travers la province, des plateformes de…

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Sudan’s Grain Divide: A revolution of bread and sorghum
x-border project
Sudan and South Sudan
Briefings
Sudan’s Grain Divide: A revolution of bread and sorghum
By
Edward Thomas, Magdi el-Gizouli
2020
Sudan's Grain Divide by Edward Thomas and Magdi El Gizouli - RVI X-Border Project (2020).pdf

 

This briefing unpacks the connected political and economic crisis that reached a climax in early 2019 through the contrasting but connected worlds of Sudan’s bread and sorghum eaters. Its conclusion presents the limited options available to the as yet unelected technocratic government.

This briefing is a product of the X-Border Local Research Network, a component of DFID’s…

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Mobilization and Resistance in Sudan’s Uprising
Sudan and South Sudan
Briefings
Mobilization and Resistance in Sudan’s Uprising
By
Magdi el-Gizouli
2020
Mobilization and resistance in Sudan's uprising by Magdi el Gizouli - RVI X-Border Briefing (2020)_0.pdf

 

RVI Fellow Magdi el-Gizouli's briefing examines the forms of popular resistance and organization that emerged within Sudan's uprising in 2018-19. He considers whether the new transitional government, which must balance the interests of Sudan's different social groups, will be able to satisfy the demands of the country's more radical constituencies.

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