RVI in Local and Global Media 2011 is a cumulative record of references to the Rift Valley Institute in local and international news media and academic literature in 2011. Included in the document are online, broadcast and print commentary and…
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US lawmakers on Wednesday heard a powerful plea to stop a brutal wave of rapes and killings by rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo amid claims six million people have died in years of war. “Congress, in your…
Examining the Role of Rwanda in the DRC Insurgency House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights Testimony: Jason K. Stearns, Director, Usalama Project, Rift Valley Institute Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Bass, and Members…
Since it declared independence in 1991, Somaliland has worked to develop a system of multi-party democracy. The result is a relatively complex but home-grown set of political arrangements, providing concessions to and incorporating different interest groups. This was the…
By Sally Healy The election of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud by Somalia’s Transitional Parliament is an unexpected success for the hugely discredited political process in the country. It could prove to be a turning point in Somalia’s recovery. With twenty…
When Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir returned a few weeks ago from a summit in Ethiopia with his South Sudanese counterpart and former civil war foe, many people here expected him to talk of peace. Instead, the 69-year-old ruler…
By Aly Verjee Amid continuing political drama in both Egypt and Ethiopia, the management of Africa's longest river might not seem an urgent priority. But every year that passes without meaningful cooperation between the Nile Basin's two most populous…
Many Rwandans would have been interested in a recent online debate hosted by the Oxford Transitional Justice Research at the University of Oxford, UK, under the motion "international monitors, such as the UN Group of Experts or human rights…
An elite UN brigade tasked with "neutralising" armed groups in the DRC has raised the stakes of the peacekeeping mission in the troubled country, and some observers fear the radical step could backfire. The Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) established…
Dans cet entretien, Jason Stearns directeur du projet Ousalama, qui travaille sur les groupes armés dans l’Est de la RDC, analyse les récents développements dans les relations entre la RDC et son voisin le Rwanda. Malgré le climat tendu,…
Recent Publications

Writing Ethiopia into the World, Writing the World from Ethiopia
October 7, 2026
The Ethiopian Women Researchers Network (EWNET) hosted an online scholarly webinar on Friday, 30 January 2026, titled ‘Writing Ethiopia into the World and Writing the World from Ethiopia’. The webinar examined how Ethiopia has been represented within global knowledge production

The Political Economy of Coffee in the Kaffa–Bench-Sheko–Sheka Belt, Southwest Ethiopia Region
October 6, 2026
This study provides a critical political economy analysis of the coffee sector in the Kaffa–Bench-Sheko–Sheka belt in Southwest Ethiopia Peoples’ Regional State, the genetic and cultural heartland of Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica). Based on 47 key respondent interviews, the study

The Political Economy of Coffee in the Jimma–Ilu Aba Bora–Buno Bedele Belt, Oromia Region
October 5, 2026
The findings of this study reveal a number of critical insights about the political economy of coffee in the Jimma–Ilu Aba Bora–Buno Bedele coffee belt. The coffee economy is shaped by a small number of influential actors, including state institutions,