THE TRIPLE BURDEN: WOMEN SELLING THEIR LABOUR IN SOUTH SUDAN
SUMMARY In rural South Sudan, markets for food, labour, and land are expanding, leading to increased workloads for women. Historically, rural women had two primary labour burdens: producing food for home consumption and providing essential life-giving labour such as child-rearing and household maintenance. These were unpaid. Now, they face a third burden: producing food for […]
TRANSBORDER MOBILE MONEY PLATFORMS IN THE GREATER SOMALI ECONOMIC SPACE
SUMMARY The informal transborder movement of goods and people have long captivated scholars, policymakers and security institutions in the East Africa region, in particular in the Horn of Africa (HoA). Special attention has been given to the transborder economic activities within what is referred to as the ‘greater Somali economic space’. This area encompasses Somali-inhabited […]
Webinar | The Structure of Violence: States, Official Militaries, Paramilitaries, and Non-State Militias in the Northern Horn of Africa
For more than a century, the Horn of Africa has been affected by war and violence triggered and driven by clashes between state militaries, paramilitaries and other non-state militia groups. The ongoing war in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and the recent Tigray war in Ethiopia that […]
WAR AND THE BORDERLAND: SUDAN, ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA AT A TIME OF CONFLICT
This research paper builds on work the Rift Valley Institute (RVI) has conducted on the Sudan–Ethiopia borderland under the XCEPT programme since 2021. This culminated in the report ‘Resistance in the Peripheries: Fragile peace and civil war in Sudan and Ethiopia’s borderlands’, published in March 2023. It also draws on work undertaken by the RVI […]
THE STRUCTURE OF VIOLENCE: STATES, OFFICIAL MILITARIES, PARAMILITARIES,AND NON-STATE MILITIAS IN THE NORTHERN HORN OF AFRICA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In Sudan and Ethiopia, official militaries are currently fighting against paramilitaries and non-state militias that, previously, had been important battlefield allies. The ongoing violence does not reflect a breakdown in the political order. Rather, these conflicts are the direct result of the persistence of a centuries-old regional military-political system created by unstable states […]
WAR AND THE BORDERLAND: NORTHERN BAHR EL-GHAZAL DURING THE SUDAN CONFLICT
The devastating war in Sudan between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has also had a profound impact on the country’s neighbours, particularly South Sudan. This is especially the case for areas that border Sudan, including Upper Nile, the Ruweng Administrative Area, and Northern Bahr el-Ghazal (NBG). RVI has been working […]
Podcast: The political economy of checkpoints in Somalia
In this podcast, hosted by Hannah Stogdon of the Rift Valley Institute (RVI), we delve into the intricate web of roadblocks, checkpoints, and their pivotal role in the political economy of cross-border trade and conflict in Somalia. Our guests, Peer Schouten, Abdirahman Edle, and Jamal Mohamed, share fresh evidence and invaluable insights from their research […]
PAYING THE PRICE
THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF CHECKPOINTS IN SOMALIA SUMMARY This report explores the political economy of checkpoints in Somalia: What drives their formation? What impacts do they have on trade, society and political projects? To explore these factors, new empirical data is presented on the distribution and costs of checkpoints operated by al-Shabaab and government actors, […]
BROKERING TRADE ROUTES
THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF CHECKPOINTS ALONG THE BAIDOA CORRIDOR SUMMARY • The Baidoa corridor is a transport and trade route that connects Somalia’s coastal capital, Mogadishu, to Kenya via the border towns of Bula Hawa and Dollow, respectively. As with all trade and transport routes in Somalia, there are many checkpoints along the route that […]
NAVIGATING TRADE CONTROLS
THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF CHECKPOINTS ALONG SOMALIA’S GARISSA CORRIDOR SUMMARY • The Garissa corridor is an essential artery for trade and exchange between Kismayo in Somalia’s Jubaland state, and the Kenyan city of Garissa. Checkpoints along this route were originally a militia phenomenon, with each sub-clan operating its own roadblocks.They proliferated during the clan militia […]