By John Ryle Wendy James, who died in Oxford on 27 April, was one of the outstanding anthropologists of her generation. In a trilogy of immaculate field-work based monographs she chronicled the culture and history of the Uduk people…
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The annual Hargeysa International Book Fair took place in August 2013 in the Somaliland capital. The star attraction was the poet Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame, “Hadraawi”, now in his seventies. (The meaning of his nickname, "Hadraawi", which was given to…
A Norman castle in the north-east of England may not seem an obvious place to discuss the cultural heritage of South Sudan. But the university library here—next door to Durham castle—is the location of the most significant archive of colonial-era documents outside…
RVI’s ongoing South Sudan Customary Authorities Project is seeking to deepen understanding of the changing role of chiefs and traditional authorities in South Sudan. As part of this project, RVI is working with a team of researchers, most of whom have…
Recent Publications
Political Economy of Cash and Markets in Sudan
February 27, 2026
The research provides a snapshot of the war in Sudan in the period from February to April 2025. However, the war is dynamic, with political alliances and territorial control changing. The April 2023 conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF)
Rethinking Ethiopia II: Youth and politics
February 26, 2026
Seminar report Rethinking Ethiopia, a collaborative essay competition initiative between Addis Ababa University’s Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) and the Rift Valley Institute’s (RVI) Peace Research Facility (PRF), offers a platform for Ethiopian youth to express their ideas
2025 Year in Review
February 16, 2026
The 2025 Year in Review provides an overview of the Rift Valley Institute’s work over the past year across eastern and central Africa. The report highlights RVI’s research and publication outputs, education and training activities, and public forums and convenings,