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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.

2017

Mogadishu has for more than two decades been one of the most highly contested cities in the world. Since the collapse of President Siyad Barre’s government in early 1991, it has been the object of both military and political struggles almost without interruption. This report considers the current state of land governance and the nature of continuing land disputes in Mogadishu, which remains…

2017

Kenya, along with the rest of the world, has struggled to craft a response to tackling violent extremism, especially since militarist groups have been quick to adjust their recruitment methods to adapt to such responses. Widespread narratives seem to suggest that violent extremism has international origins and is inherently a non- Kenyan problem. Yet one of al-Shabaab’s leaders is from Kenya,…

2017

On 22 April 2016, the Rift Valley Forum hosted the launch of Saferworld’s report, Forging Jubaland, Community Perspectives on Federalism, Governance and Reconciliation. The creation of Jubaland state in 2013 and the controversial appointment of Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam (‘Madobe’) as President of its interim administration, supported by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD),…

2017

The mining of Kenya’s coal deposits has started in earnest in line with Kenya’s aspiration to become a middle-income industrialized country by the year 2030. A key element in reaching this goal is the generation of energy to power industries and making electricity more widely accessible to the population in Kenya. 

While the government is making key investments in renewable energy,…

2017

During 2010 and 2011, a secessionist campaign led by a group calling itself the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) dominated debates about coastal politics. As a result of local grievances, the MRC’s call for secession attracted a degree of public sympathy on the coast. 

Debates emerged that portrayed two contrasting images of Kenya: the inclusive nation which embraces the coast, and a…

2017

In Kenya, 80 per cent of the unemployed are believed to be below the age of 35. The rate of unemployment in Mombasa, Kenya’s second largest city and home to the region’s largest port, is estimated to be 44 per cent. The Kuza project’s definition of unemployment includes those earning less than KES 10,000 (USD 100) per month. This raises concerns of how the Kenyan coast will be able to harness…

2016

With the formation of a Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) and the subsequent outbreak of violence in Juba in July 2016, the role of civil society in South Sudan is more vital than ever. Can a civil society, confident and well resourced, contribute to the political discourse, engage in nation building, hold public institutions to account and improve the transparency of public…

2016

For more than a year now, two decades of relative social and political order in Ethiopia has been disrupted by unprecedented protest and unrest. Long-standing grievances erupted in November 2015, only six months after the ruling Ethiopia Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) won a total electoral victory earlier in May the same year. The two largest of Ethiopia’s internal ethno-…

2016

Dans l’est de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC), les litiges fonciers sont considérés à la fois comme une source majeure et un facteur important de conflit. Au fil du temps, les chercheurs et les praticiens ont identifié plusieurs facteurs liés à la terre qui contribuent à la violence et au conflit. Parmi ceux-ci figure une grande diversité de formes de gouvernance foncière, rendue…

2016

Land disputes are considered both key sources and perpetuating factors of conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Over the years, scholars and practitioners have identified a number of critical land-related factors contributing to violence and conflict. These include a considerable diversity of forms of land governance that are fostered by: the existence of overlapping…