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…
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The third phase of RVI’s South Sudan Customary Authorities Project, funded by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), is now underway. The project aims to deepen understanding of customary authorities’ role within, and with, their communities, and…
On Thursday 3 August, the full eighteen member Dutch Embassy national and international staff team in South Sudan visited the National Archives as part of their annual team outing. The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports staff presented a…
This article was written by RVI Fellow Magdi El Gizouli. It was originally published on StillSUDAN and republished with permission from the author. Fatima Ahmed Ibrahim, a Sudanese veteran communist politician and feminist, passed away in London on 12…
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…
This book review was written by Richard Stupart. The book, South Sudan: a new history for a new nation, was written by RVI Fellow Douglas H. Johnson. There are precious few history books about South Sudan that look beyond its recent…
As part of its ongoing South Sudan Customary Authorities project, RVI, in coordination with staff and students at the University of Juba, organized an event which discussed the role of chiefs. The discussion centred around the screening of RVI’s…
Aly Verjee is a visiting expert at the United States Institute of Peace and a fellow of the Rift Valley Institute. Migration crises in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa reconfigured global politics. So why – as the…
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 has trained a team of researchers in oral history to conduct…
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 has trained a team of researchers in oral history to conduct…
Recent Publications
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‘THE FUEL IS US’: WATER, OIL AND DEBT ON THE SUDAN-SOUTH SUDAN BORDERLANDS
February 18, 2025
South Sudan and Sudan’s borderlands are run by a patchwork of armed authorities. Since early 2019, when opposition forces were effectively wiped out, these zones of control have remained relatively fixed, even as the war in Sudan drew close to
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Conflict, displacement and children in paid work in the Sudan-South Sudan borderlands
February 17, 2025
In this blog, Manal examines the pressures forcing many displaced people, including children, to seek paid labour to supplement dwindling support mechanisms in camps in South Sudan. The author draws on her research in 2024 as part of the XCEPT
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DOMINANT PATTERNS AND DYNAMICS OF URBAN CONTESTATIONS IN HAWASSA
February 12, 2025
Studying urban contestations in Ethiopia’s secondary cities can help us understand how the urban centres outside of Addis Ababa are evolving during an ongoing period of significant socio-economic and political change. In this regard, Hawassa in Sidama region provides an