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Rift Valley Institute

Making local knowledge work

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Local justice in Southern Sudan

Based on extensive interviews with litigants, chiefs, and court officials, the project report Local Justice in Southern Sudan by Cherry Leonardi, Leben Moro, Martina Santschi and Deborah Isser (2010) argues that the role of the chiefs’ courts has evolved…
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Local peace processes in Sudan

Aims of the Project This project aimed to provide a baseline record and preliminary contextual analysis of “people-to-people” peace processes in Sudan. and contribute to a growing body of literature on indigenous approaches to peacemaking in Africa. Background In…
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Securing the Peace in Somaliland

Securing the peace in Somaliland

Summary The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of the 2010 presidential elections on peace and security in Somaliland and suggest areas where external assistance could be of value. The report, Securing the Peace in Somaliland, was…
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Electoral Processes

Electoral processes

Aims This programme comprises a series of studies of electoral processes and politics in Eastern and Central Africa. It aims to provide those involved in elections—electoral officials, civil society organisations, election monitors, donor agencies and others working in the…
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Harlem-based Somali novelist Abdi Latif Ega, author of 'Guban'. Picture by Kate Stanworth

Hargeysa Cultural Centre

Background In 2008, the Redsea Cultural Foundation and Kayd, Somali diaspora organisations in Italy and the UK, joined ranks to establish the Hargeysa International Book Fair. Now in its fourteenth year, the Fair has grown to become one of…
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Political settlements research programme

Background  How do so-called fragile states exercise and maintain political power? What actors and institutions are involved in this process? How do they distribute the spoils of power amongst the elite and the population at large? These questions lie…
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Usalama Project

Usalama Project

The RVI Usalama Project The eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has been mired in violence for two decades and continues to be plagued by rampant insecurity. Yet, the drivers of this insecurity remain poorly understood. The Usalama Project…
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Strengthening the leadership and influence of women in politics in Kenya

Women in politics in Kenya

When Kenyans voted in favour of a new constitution in the 2010 referendum, they endorsed many considerable changes to the country’s political, legal and institutional landscape. This included the introduction of a quota system intended to limit the domination…
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The Impact of War on Somali Men

The Impact of War on Somali Men

The Rift Valley Institute’s Impact of War on Somali Men (IWM) study is a project which fills a critical knowledge gap on the impact of war and state collapse on Somali men and manhood. It provides important insights for…
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  • Recent Publications

    Political Economy of Cash and Markets in Sudan

    February 27, 2026

    The research provides a snapshot of the war in Sudan in the period from February to April 2025. However, the war is dynamic, with political alliances and territorial control changing. The April 2023 conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF)

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    Rethinking Ethiopia II: Youth and politics

    February 26, 2026

    Seminar report Rethinking Ethiopia, a collaborative essay competition initiative between Addis Ababa University’s Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) and the Rift Valley Institute’s (RVI) Peace Research Facility (PRF), offers a platform for Ethiopian youth to express their ideas

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    2025 Year in Review

    February 16, 2026

    The 2025 Year in Review provides an overview of the Rift Valley Institute’s work over the past year across eastern and central Africa. The report highlights RVI’s research and publication outputs, education and training activities, and public forums and convenings,

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