Since the start of 2019, a series of murders, violent robberies and kidnappings have taken place in peripheral neighbourhoods of Goma. The rapid rise in violent crime has alarmed city residents and led to calls for the local government…
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.
SEARCH
PUBLICATION TYPE
LANGUAGE
REGION
COUNTRY
Un système d’insécurité: Comprendre la violence et la criminalité urbaines à Bukavu examine le rôle des rôle des acteurs étatiques et non étatiques dans la mise à disposition d’outils pour la sécurité, ainsi qu’à la façon dont les citoyens…
I applaud and respect Dr. Adan, my friend and colleague for twenty years, for his sense of justice and firm determination to contribute to peace and human rights in Somaliland. I especially admire Adan’s steadfast support for gender justice…
Key Points International investment in Somaliland’s strategically located Berbera port may turn it into a new logistical gateway to East Africa and boost economic development in the self-declared republic. Berbera port has played a key role in the formation…
South Sudan’s customary authorities play an important role in local government, justice, and as intermediaries or brokers between local communities and the government. While significant attention was paid to the role of customary authorities in South Sudan’s statebuilding project…
Over the past two decades, urban violence in the eastern Congo has reached alarming levels, However, it has rarely made it to the forefront of international policy and media attention. Violent cities, Violent Societies analyzes urban violence through the…
- By Judith Verweijen
- Download
Au cours des deux dernières décennies, la violence urbaine dans l’est du Congo a atteint une ampleur alarmante, cependent, il est rare qu’elle soit la priorité des politiques internationales et de l’attention médiatique. Villes Violentes, Société Violente analysent la…
Points saillants Bien que la majorité de leurs opérations se déroulent en zone rurale, les groupes armés de l’est du Congo ont des liens de longue date avec les centres urbains. Ces liens se sont intensifiés du fait du…
War, Migration and Work outlines how the changing economy has affected social relations in the Northern Bahr el-Ghazal borderlands, particularly between the old and the young, and men and women. The result is a fraying social system, where intra-family…
The Rift Valley Institute’s Rural to urban mobility project aims to better understand the dynamics of rural to urban migration and the ways in which this phenomenon impacts the social and infrastructural fabric of cities in East Africa. It is conducted…
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,