HISTORY, POLITICS AND INTER-RELIGIOUS RELATIONS INTRODUCTION Religious affiliation is almost universal in Ethiopia, which means that religions amass significant political capital but may also act as potential catalysts for conflict. After five decades of ostensibly secular politics—first under a…
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.
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Overview Amid the major changes to Somalia’s political landscape seen over the past two decades, an abiding feature has been the reliance on clan-based power-sharing models, including the ‘4.5’ formula. Despite the Somali Provisional Constitution containing no reference to…
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…
Overview Since the formation of Jubaland state in 2012, decades of conflict have given way to increased stability across parts of the region. Even so, insecurity, political violence and humanitarian crises have persisted amid recurrent tensions between Jubaland and…
SUMMARY In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, Congo), the opaque land governance framework, known to be at the bottom of countless conflicts ranging from disagreements between neighbours to violent clashes between armed groups, has been undergoing reform for…
This briefing was produced by the Ethiopia Peace Research Facility (PRF). The PRF is an independent facility combining timely analysis on peace and conflict from Ethiopian experts with support for conflict sensitive programming in the country. It is managed by…
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- By Mustafe M. Abdi
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The current conflict over the contested city of Lasanod has the potential to expand into a crisis affecting several of the Somali-speaking territories. This blog – building on research the author conducted in 2021 – looks at the conflict…
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…
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Armed opposition groups in Sudan and Ethiopia’s border regions have a history of leveraging support, often military, from their neighbours to aid their political aspirations at home. These dynamics have fluctuated in line with broader changes in the region…
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The site of recurrent famines and humanitarian crises, Somalia’s Bay and Bakool regions were once considered the country’s breadbasket. In this blog, researcher and former development worker Abdirahman Edle explains how, over the past two decades, the region has…
Recent Publications
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SEMINAR REPORT | RETHINKING ETHIOPIA: LEGACY OF THE ETHIOPIAN REVOLUTION
August 5, 2024
SUMMARY The Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) of Addis Ababa University and the Peace Research Facility (PRF) of the Rift Valley Institute (RVI) jointly organized a seminar on the theme ‘Rethinking Ethiopia: A Seminar on Youth Voices’, held
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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
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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