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

Launch of the Ethiopian Women Researchers Network (EWNET): Event report
August 18, 2025
This report details the launch event for the Ethiopian Women Researchers Network (EWNET). The event took place on 6 February 2025 from 9.00 a.m.–2.30 p.m. at the Skylight Hotel in Addis Ababa. It was organized by the Peace Research Facility

‘We Want Factories’: Articulating women’s political engagement for a post-socialist Ethiopia
August 14, 2025
EWNET SEMINAR SERIES REPORT The inaugural Ethiopian Women Researchers Network (EWNET) Seminar was delivered by Dr Serawit B. Debele on 15 April 2025 at Addis Ababa University’s Institute for Peace and Security Studies’ (IPSS) New Meeting Hall. Entitled ‘We Want

የድንበሮች ውዝግቦችና ሊያስከትሉት የሚችሉት ምስቅልቅል: በምስራቅ ኢትዮጵያ በኦሮሚያ እና ሶማሊ ክልል አዋሳኝ አካባቢዎች የሚታየው የወሰን ውዝግብና እና ጥንቃቄ የሚሻው የሰላም ጥረት
July 18, 2025
በኦሮሚያ እና በሶማሊ ክልል ድንበር አካባቢ የሚገኙ አከራካሪ ቦታዎች ላይ አስተዳደራዊ ቁጥጥርን ለማጠናከር በሚደረገው ፉክክር የሚነሱ ግጭቶች የተዳፈኑ ቢመስሉም ጨርሰው አልጠፉም። ይህ በምስራቅ አፍሪካ ረጅሙ የሀገር ውስጥ የክልሎች ወሰን ሲሆን፥ አካባቢው ከ2009–2011 ግጭት እና የአገር ውስጥ መፈናቀልን ያስከተለም ነበር። የኢትዮጵያ