The political landscape in Ethiopia since 2018 exemplifies how historical interpretations rooted in collective memory can shape political alignments. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali’s initial embrace of great tradition narratives clashed with the historical perspectives of his core constituency,…
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.
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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. Ethiopia’s urban centres are the location of ongoing…
This paper examines the roles of civil society organizations (CSOs) in Ethiopian peacebuilding, exploring change and continuity within the sector and how past events influence their activities. It discusses CSOs’ involvement in peace initiatives, analysing their successes as well…
Since 2018, Gambella has experienced several conflicts. While some can be categorized as a continuation of protracted conflicts in the region, others can be attributed to the post-2018 political changes in Addis Ababa. The major conflicts include, Anywaa–Nuer conflict,…
በኢትዮጵያ ከተሞች የሚታዩ ውዝግቦችን ማጥናት፣ ከአዲስ አበባ ውጪ ያሉ የከተማ ማዕከላት የሚስተዋሉ ጉልህ ማኅበራዊ፣ ኢኮኖሚያዊ እና ፖለቲካዊ ለውጦች ምን ዓይነት መልክ እንዳላቸው ለመገንዘብ ይረዳል። በዚህ ረገድ በቅርቡ የተመሠረተው የሲዳማ ክልል ርዕሰ መዲና በሆነችው የቀድሞ የደቡብ ክልል ዋና ከተማ ሐዋሳ…
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…
This paper offers an analysis of conflict trends in Ethiopia’s Benishangul–Gumuz Regional State, focusing on the period since the 2018 national political transition. As well as providing a historical overview, it examines the drivers of contemporary violence, the role…
ከኢትዮጵያ ከተሞች በሕዝብ ብዛት ሁለተኛ የሆነችው ድሬ ዳዋ ከተማ፣ በምስራቁ የሀገሪቱ ክፍል የብሔረሰቦች፣ የቋንቋ እና የኃይማኖት ብዝኃነት የሚገለጥባት ማዕከል መሆኗ ይታወቃል። ነገር ግን በ2010 የተደረገውን ሀገራዊ የፖለቲካ ለውጥ ተከትሎ፣ በርካታ ጎብኚዎችን የምታስተናግደውና በሰላሟ የምትታወቀው ከተማ ለሁለት ዓመታት የብሔር እና…
ይህ ጽሑፍ አዲስ በተቋቋመው የማዕከላዊ ኢትዮጵያ ክልላዊ መንግሥት ውስጥ በሀዲያ ዞን በምትገኘው ሆሳዕና ከተማ ለሀብት ባለቤትነት እና ቁጥጥር የሚደረግ ውዝግብ ላይ የተደረገ ጥናት ሪፖርት ነው። ጥናቱ የከተማዋን መስፋፋት ተከትሎ በቀድሞ በተወሰኑ ቡድኖች ተይዞ የነበረው የማኅበራዊ እና ኢኮኖሚያዊ ኃይል ተገለው…
Dereje Feyissa and Fana Gebresenbet, with Abreham Abebe This report offers a case study of the contestation for ownership and control of key urban resources in Hosanna, located in the Hadiya zone of the newly formed Central Ethiopia Regional…
Recent Publications
Writing Ethiopia into the World, Writing the World from Ethiopia
October 7, 2026
The Ethiopian Women Researchers Network (EWNET) hosted an online scholarly webinar on Friday, 30 January 2026, titled ‘Writing Ethiopia into the World and Writing the World from Ethiopia’. The webinar examined how Ethiopia has been represented within global knowledge production
The Political Economy of Coffee in the Kaffa–Bench-Sheko–Sheka Belt, Southwest Ethiopia Region
October 6, 2026
This study provides a critical political economy analysis of the coffee sector in the Kaffa–Bench-Sheko–Sheka belt in Southwest Ethiopia Peoples’ Regional State, the genetic and cultural heartland of Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica). Based on 47 key respondent interviews, the study
The Political Economy of Coffee in the Jimma–Ilu Aba Bora–Buno Bedele Belt, Oromia Region
October 5, 2026
The findings of this study reveal a number of critical insights about the political economy of coffee in the Jimma–Ilu Aba Bora–Buno Bedele coffee belt. The coffee economy is shaped by a small number of influential actors, including state institutions,