By Peter Elborn This is a book that is what it says on the label – it is a handbook. But that makes it sound like the dull product of a propaganda ministry and it is far from that….
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By Aly Verjee The maxim that the test of any agreement is in its implementation is familiar to those who follow Sudanese politics, even from a distance. This article reviews the latest agreements reached between Sudan and South Sudan…
South Sudan's first year of life has been marred by political uncertainty, lawlessness and an oil dispute. Its east African neighbours are watching for opportunities but wary of investing. … Magdi El Gizouli, a fellow at the Rift Valley…
By Magdi El Gizouli Obviously challenged by the stubborn show of anger against their long rule in the heartland of the country the high priests of the National Congress Party (NCP) shifted gears from unashamed dismissal to defensive posturing…
Hunger is likely to persist among people caught up in conflict in Sudan’s border states, despite a government promise to allow food relief into areas that aid groups warn are on the verge of famine. Sudan agreed on June…
On September 27, one of the most repressive governments on earth was thrown a lifeline. After an eight-month standoff that ravaged the two countries' economies and brought them to the brink of war, North and South Sudan resolved a…
By Magdi El Gazouli Sudan's Military Industry Corporation (MIC), established according to its website in 1993, has as its motto the phrase 'for peace we gather all our effort'. The phrase mocks the fact that the Sudan Armed Forces…
More than 600 people have been killed since rebels began an uprising in two Sudanese states last year, the interior minister said on Tuesday, but an analyst called the figure meaningless. Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamed, giving a rare casualty count,…
By Magdi El Gazouli Sudan and South Sudan signed on Thursday a battery of eight agreements covering oil and other economic concerns, border security, monitoring and demarcation, the status of nationals in the other state, and trade next to…
By Magdi El-Gizouli August 26, 2013 – When Adly Mansour was installed interim president of Egypt by General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the de factor ruler of the country, President Bashir eschewed the courtesy of congratulating his official counterpart down…
Recent Publications

Thinking about Borderlands: Observations and implications from XCEPT programme research
March 31, 2025
Do the ways in which policymakers and national governments view borderlands reflect how the communities living there experience them? Building on this, can a better understanding of the characteristics of borderlands help in promoting development, improving governance and making more

Digital Governance and Security in the Horn of Africa
March 28, 2025
While digital finance—including mobile money—has developed unevenly across Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, such technologies are nevertheless transforming everyday economic activities. In some cases, borderlands and cross-border financial flows are central to these digital developments and are driving further innovation. From

Legally Informal: Women, conflict and cross-border trade in the Mandera tri-border area
March 28, 2025
In the Mandera triangle—a pastoralist region encompassing the point at which the borders of Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia meet—the reality of local and cross-border trade often diverges widely from official state policies of control. This disjunction has created a grey