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…
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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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…
Following the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the subsequent independence of South Sudan in 2011, many agro-pastoralist and pastoralist areas of the country have experienced an upsurge of livestock raiding, counter raiding and cycles of revenge killing. Eastern…
Northern Bahr el-Ghazal, like much of South Sudan, is in a protracted state of social and economic crisis, rooted in generations of armed conflict, forced resettlements, and a shift towards a cash and market economy. Since the 1980s, family…
Points clés Dans de nombreuses villes de l’est de la République démocratique du Congo, des groupes de jeunes sont impliqués dans le maintien de l’ordre en milieu urbain, opérant dans un espace se situant à la fois entre les…
Fifty years ago, most households in South Sudan produced the grain they ate, organizing agricultural labour and distributing small surpluses mostly through kinship and other social networks. Now, the majority of households buy most of their food. This transition…
A System of Insecurity: Understanding Urban Violence and Crime in Bukavu examines the role of state and non-state actors in the provision of security, and citizens’ perceptions of, experiences with and responses to insecurity in Bukavu, the capital of…
- By Maarten Hendriks, Karen Büscher
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Depuis le début de 2019, une série de meurtres, de vols qualifiés avec violence et d’enlèvements frappe les quartiers périphériques de Goma. L’aggravation rapide de cette criminalité violente a alarmé les habitants de la ville et les a poussés…
Key Points Despite focusing the bulk of their operations on rural areas, armed groups in the eastern Congo have long-standing connections with urban centres. Technological progress, such as mobile communication, and enhanced movement, especially through motorcycle taxis, have intensified…
Recent Publications
Political Economy of Cash and Markets in Sudan
February 27, 2026
The research provides a snapshot of the war in Sudan in the period from February to April 2025. However, the war is dynamic, with political alliances and territorial control changing. The April 2023 conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF)
Rethinking Ethiopia II: Youth and politics
February 26, 2026
Seminar report Rethinking Ethiopia, a collaborative essay competition initiative between Addis Ababa University’s Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) and the Rift Valley Institute’s (RVI) Peace Research Facility (PRF), offers a platform for Ethiopian youth to express their ideas
2025 Year in Review
February 16, 2026
The 2025 Year in Review provides an overview of the Rift Valley Institute’s work over the past year across eastern and central Africa. The report highlights RVI’s research and publication outputs, education and training activities, and public forums and convenings,