The RVI’s 2014 annual field courses, now in their eleventh year, were held from May to July in Eastern and Central Africa. The Horn of Africa Course held in Kenya, from 31 May to 7 June 2014, and covered…
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The South Sudan Law Society's publication, In Brief, covers critical issues in legal and constitutional development in South Sudan. An article in the inaugural issue by Victor Lowilla explains how criminal defendants are often treated as guilty until proven innocent, against basic…
In a blog for the Christian Science Monitor, Jason Stearns, Director of the RVI Usalama Project describes how a deal to end the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo fell foul of demands from M23 rebels for integration into the Congolese army…
A nomadic group in the disputed border region of Abyei threatened war if it’s excluded from a referendum over the area’s status, after the presidents of Sudan and South Sudan failed to end an impasse over the issue. Abyei…
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…
With its scrubland, unpaved roads and mud brick huts, the Jebel Amer area in Darfur, western Sudan, can look like a poor and desolate place. Under the ground, though, lies something sought by people everywhere: gold. In the past…
A particularly apt description of the funding dilemma can be found in the latest Rift Valley Institute report, which quotes a commentator as saying: The donors, either they are stupid or they are totally naive. The government [i.e. GoNU] didn’t put…
KAMPALA, Uganda—Congo's United Nations-backed troops have halted an offensive against the rebel group known as M23, in a step toward a peace deal that aims to end fighting and revive commerce in the mineral-rich African nation… The move comes…
Liz Hodgkin, RVI Fellow and former Amnesty International Sudan researcher, is teaching at St Augustine’s School in Isoke village, Eastern Equatoria, South Sudan. This is her ninth letter from Isoke. Other letters: No 1 July 2012, No 2 October…
Liz Hodgkin, RVI Fellow and former Amnesty International Sudan researcher, teaches at St Augustine’s School in the village of Isoke, in Eastern Equatoria, South Sudan. This is her sixth letter from Isoke. Other letters: No 1 July 2012, No…
Recent Publications
Aid and Conflict Sensitivity in Contemporary Ethiopia
November 17, 2025
This study assesses conflict sensitivity practices among humanitarian, development and peacebuilding (HDP) actors in Ethiopia. It seeks to raise awareness and foster a deeper understanding of the evolving aid landscape in the country while analysing the challenges that affect conflict-sensitive
Enhancing the Role of Borderland Communities in Ethiopia’s Foreign Policy
October 15, 2025
Ethiopia’s borderland communities (BLCs) have historically influenced the country’s relations with its neighbours. These peripheral regions often serve as hubs for cross-border trade, repositories of natural resources and, at times, flashpoints of conflict. Surrounded by six neighbouring countries – Djibouti,
Women in the Social Sciences and Humanities in Ethiopia: The case of Addis Ababa University
October 10, 2025
This preliminary assessment is part of the launch exercise of the Ethiopian Women Researchers’ Network (EWNET). Focusing on Addis Ababa University as a pioneering higher institution in the country, the study looks into the status of women within these disciplines