During war, geographies of economic and political power are often recast by shifting patterns of trade and population movements. This can present an opportunity for local leaders to reshape legal and moral logics to attract trade and people to…
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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International, national and local political discourses often portray the Murle community as principal aggressors and the source of much of the instability affecting former Jonglei State in South Sudan. Although such negative stereotypes are partially driven by actual events,…
The Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) signed on 12 September 2018, not only allows for a new government and security arrangements, it also provides for two new commissions to decide the number of…
For over two decades Ethiopia’s political federation has been organized around the principle of ‘democratic centralism’. This philosophy also lies at the heart of the ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition, and its centralized decision-making culture. Until…
In May 2001, Somaliland’s citizens went to the polls to approve an interim constitution in a public referendum coordinated by the Government of Somaliland. The constitution called for multi-party politics and democratic elections. Since then, Somaliland has held a…
This Q&A is an explainer on the rapid political changes that have taken place in Sudan over the last month. All 4 contributors are close collaborators with the Rift Valley Institute. Questions were posed by Magnus Taylor, RVI’s Senior…
Prophets—those recognised as having been ‘seized’ by a divinity—have played an important role in the history of South Sudan, particularly that of the Nuer people. They were seen as being powerful political actors and, alongside chiefs, important intermediaries for…
South Sudan’s violent conflicts continue to plague its people. An estimated four million South Sudanese have been forcibly displaced since December 2013, and more than a million have sought refuge in Uganda where communities have largely reassembled without their…
The legacy of Somali piracy, the threat of terrorists transiting between Yemen and Somalia, and the deepening conflict in Yemen, mean international actors tend to view the Gulf of Aden through a security lens. This report outlines the local…
Key points In numerous cities in the eastern Congo, youth groups are involved in urban policing, operating in the space between state and non-state actors and formal and informal governance. While some youth policing groups are responsible for improvements…
Recent Publications
The Social Impact of the Changing Course of the Nabek River in Kakuma Refugee Camp
January 20, 2025
This blog examines the social impact of the shifting course of the Nabek River in Kakuma refugee camp where, when the river overflows and changes direction, it sweeps away homes, forcing refugees to migrate internally. By Robert Aharanya Claudio Introduction
የድሬ ዳዋ ከተማ መልከ ብዙ ውዝግቦት
January 14, 2025
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 የኃይማኖት
ሆሳዕና፡ ከትንሽ ወታደራዊ ካምፕነት በሬሚታንስ ወደ ጎመራች የኢኮኖሚ ማዕከልነት
January 13, 2025
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 በነበሩ