This research paper builds on work the Rift Valley Institute (RVI) has conducted on the Sudan–Ethiopia borderland under the XCEPT programme since 2021. This culminated in the report ‘Resistance in the Peripheries: Fragile peace and civil war in Sudan…
RVI publishes books, research reports, research papers, briefings and meeting reports in a range of formats. Publications cover policy, research, arts, culture and local knowledge in the countries of eastern and central Africa. Research publications—books, reports and papers—are peer-reviewed. Some RVI publications are also available in French and/or Arabic.
The RVI is a signatory of the Budapest Open Access Initiative (2001); all publications are free for download in PDF format under Creative Commons licences. The views expressed in books and reports published by the RVI are those of the authors, not the Institute.
SEARCH
PUBLICATION TYPE
LANGUAGE
REGION
COUNTRY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In Sudan and Ethiopia, official militaries are currently fighting against paramilitaries and non-state militias that, previously, had been important battlefield allies. The ongoing violence does not reflect a breakdown in the political order. Rather, these conflicts are…
The devastating war in Sudan between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has also had a profound impact on the country’s neighbours, particularly South Sudan. This is especially the case for areas that border Sudan,…
SUMMARY At its signing in October 2020, it was hoped that the Juba Peace Agreement (JPA) would finally address the root causes of the conflicts in Sudan. Three years later, it is clear that the most important legacy of…
SUMMARY Sudan’s economy is based on resources that have been exploited via violence rather than through peaceful, sustainable means. As a result, those who have benefited are those who control the means of violence. Furthermore, the inequalities in wealth,…
SUMMARY The Juba Peace Agreement (JPA) was negotiated beginning in September 2019 in the South Sudanese capital by representatives of Sudan’s new civilian-military transitional government and a collection of Sudan’s armed and civilian opposition groups comprising the Sudanese Revolutionary…
This paper focuses on the potential for a regionalization of the conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), including external involvement by Sudan’s neighbours and cross-border spill-over. It is the second in a…
This paper focuses on the origins and the political and military objectives of the two main internal actors – the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — in Sudan’s ongoing conflict. It is the first…
Summary • Historically, the people living along the Blue Nile – Benishangul-Gumuz borderlands in what is now Sudan and Ethiopia have been politically and socially marginalized within their respective political entities. As such they have sought ways to address…
In Sudan, the revolutionary upsurge of 2018/2019 signalled the implosion of the country’s postcolonial political order. The political parties of old have seen their social bases wither away and their ideological hold over the Sudanese people corrode under the…
Recent Publications
![](https://riftvalley.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/featured-1.png)
THE TRIPLE BURDEN: WOMEN SELLING THEIR LABOUR IN SOUTH SUDAN
July 19, 2024
SUMMARY In rural South Sudan, markets for food, labour, and land are expanding, leading to increased workloads for women. Historically, rural women had two primary labour burdens: producing food for home consumption and providing essential life-giving labour such as child-rearing
![](https://riftvalley.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SSWRN-Podcast-Graphics-2.png)
WOMEN IN AUTHORITY IN SOUTH SUDAN: CONNECTIONS, CHALLENGES, AND STRATEGIES FOR LEADERSHIP
July 18, 2024
SUMMARY • Across South Sudan, women of different socio-economic backgrounds and experiences are fighting to take up positions of authority at all levels. This process is uneven, non-linear, and socially complex.• The ways in which women are organizing for leadership
![](https://riftvalley.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-18-at-16.39.51.png)
BEING MUSLIM & BECOMING ETHIOPIAN: CONTEMPORARY DYNAMICS AMONG ETHIOPIAN MUSLIMS
June 18, 2024
By Terje Østebø SUMMARY In the wake of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) gaining power in 1991, a religious resurgence driven by various Islamic reform movements produced a more active, visible Muslim community. Over time, the government came