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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.

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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Governing local security in the eastern Congo
Great Lakes
Research Reports
Governing local security in the eastern Congo
By
Michel Thill, Abel Cimanuka
2020
Governing local security in the eastern Congo by Michel Thill and Abel Cimanuka - RVI and VNGi report (2020).pdf

In 2019, the Congolese government pledged to reinvigorate police reform after a pilot programme was shut down in 2014 due to human rights abuses committed by the Congolese National Police. Meanwhile, the government in South Kivu called for the establishment of Local Councils for Proximity Security (CLSP) across the province, coordination platforms dedicated to diagnosing and addressing issues…

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War, Migration and Work
x-border project
Sudan and South Sudan
Research Reports
War, Migration and Work
By
Joseph Diing Majok
2019
War, migration and work by Joseph Diing Majok - RVI X-Border Project (2019).pdf

War, Migration and Work outlines how the changing economy has affected social relations in the Northern Bahr el-Ghazal borderlands, particularly between the old and the young, and men and women. The result is a fraying social system, where intra-family disputes, including violence, are on the rise, and the old order is being increasingly challenged and eroded. This report is also a…

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Security elites and gold mining in Sudan’s economic transition
x-border project
Sudan and South Sudan
Briefings
Security elites and gold mining in Sudan’s economic transition
By
2019
Security elites and gold mining in Sudan's economic transition - RVI X-Border Project (2019).pdf
Key Points

A major challenge for Sudan’s new, technocratic administration is reform of the country’s poorly performing economy. Previous attempts, including the lifting of subsidies on bread and fuel in January 2018, were one of the drivers for the popular protests that led to President Omar al-Bashir’s removal in April 2019.

In spite of Bashir’s ouster, much of the economy…

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Les rebelles et la ville
Usalama
Great Lakes
Briefings
Les rebelles et la ville
By
Judith Verweijen, Christoph Vogel, Josaphat Musamba
2019
Les rebelles et la ville par Judith Verweijen, Christoph Vogel et Josaphat Musamba - Usalama SPR Briefing (2019).pdf
Points saillants Bien que la majorité de leurs opérations se déroulent en zone rurale, les groupes armés de l’est du Congo ont des liens de longue date avec les centres urbains. Ces liens se sont intensifiés du fait du progrès technologique, notamment les communications mobiles, et la mobilité améliorée, en particulier grâce aux taxis-moto. Ces liens s’appuient sur des avantages réciproques…
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For a Life of Peace and Justice
Horn of Africa
Books
For a Life of Peace and Justice
By
Adan Abokor
2019
For a Life of Peace and Justice by Dr Adan Yusuf Abokor (2019).pdf

I applaud and respect Dr. Adan, my friend and colleague for twenty years, for his sense of justice and firm determination to contribute to peace and human rights in Somaliland. I especially admire Adan’s steadfast support for gender justice in a country where most Somali men would shy away from challenging gender inequalities. Thank you, Adan, for your unwavering service to our country so…

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Violent Cities, Violent Society: Analyzing urban violence in the eastern Congo
Usalama
Great Lakes
Research Reports
Violent Cities, Violent Society: Analyzing urban violence in the eastern Congo
By
Judith Verweijen
2019
Violent Cities, Violent Society by Judith Verweijen - RVI Usalama Project (2019).pdf

Over the past two decades, urban violence in the eastern Congo has reached alarming levels, However, it has rarely made it to the forefront of international policy and media attention. Violent cities, Violent Societies analyzes urban violence through the lens of the acceptability of using violence and the accessibility of violence, or the ease with which violence can be mobilized. Reducing…

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