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…
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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…
The report highlights the overlapping claims to and distributive struggles over territory and resources in the Oromia-Somali borderlands which animated inter-regional competition between the Oromia Regional State (ORS) and Somali Regional State (SRS), resulted in the brief 2023 uptick…
This research explores how Murle women in the Greater Pibor area of central eastern South Sudan use not just songs but dance, hairstyles, body marks and beads to express themselves. Its objective is to draw attention to the ways…
This report argues that, in order to improve women’s participation in politics and promote gender-responsive policies in the country, there is a need to enlarge government capacity for women’s leadership by introducing equal gender quotas for decision-making positions. Summary…
This report examines the complex and shifting situation of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) in post-2018 Ethiopia, highlighting its struggle to maintain influence amid political, social and religious changes. In addition to examining both the current EOTC relationship…
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…
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….
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…
This think piece is an extract of a longer paper taking stock of the roughly 40 X-Border studies carried out between 2019 and 2025 under the auspices of the Rift Valley Institute’s XCEPT programme. If we are to fully…
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