A guide to Sudan’s electoral system – one of the most complex in the world – and its effects on the distribution of power. The report analyses government documents to reveal errors and ambiguities in the demarcation of electoral…
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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A policy paper on Sudan’s political future analysing the critical events facing the country in the run up to the April 2010 elections and the 2011 referendum on self-determination for Southern Sudan. Copublished by RVI with Chatham House (the Royal Institute…
This briefing paper, submitted to the UK Associate Parliamentary Group on Sudan, discusses some of the challenges facing the international community in the lead-up to the April 2010 elections in Sudan. The paper follows up issues raised by an…
Abyei has proved to be the hardest part of Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) to implement, harder, even, than the determination of the rest of the North-South boundary, or the division of oil revenues. In this personal commentary Douglas…
This Usalama Project report sketches the historical background to the proliferation of armed groups that have emerged in the North Kivu province of the DRC over the past two decades. It serves primarily to demystify the numerous factions and…
This report by Henning Tamm examines the precipitous decline in armed violence in Ituri, a district that manifests all of the Congo’s main challenges to stabilization. The report focuses on the Front des nationalistes intégrationnistes (FNI, Front of Integrationist Nationalists) and the Force…
This Usalama Project report describes the origins, rapid evolution, expansion and activities of this diverse force. The group began as a local response to rampant insecurity but profited from flaws in the various peace deals in the eastern DRC,…
This report by Henning Tamm examines the convergence of factors that helped create and then broke apart the Union des patriotes congolais (UPC, Union of Congolese Patriots), one of Ituri’s most powerful armed groups. Created in the context of Ugandan occupation,…
This Usalama report by Dan Fahey sets out the background to the years of conflict in Ituri district of the north-eastern DRC. The particularly vicious nature of war in Ituri––including large-scale massacres, widespread sexual violence, and the use of…
RVI Fellow Douglas Johnson discussed the implications of South Sudan’s independence for the new nation’s history, historiography, and sense of identity in his keynote lecture to the 9th International South Sudan and Sudan Studies Conference in Bonn in July…
Recent Publications
SSC-Khaatumo: Perspectives on the significance and implications of its formation
December 12, 2025
On 15 April 2025, during a visit to the city of Las Anod in Sool, Prime Minister Hassan Abdi Barre officially declared the federal government’s recognition of SSC-Khaatumo (SSC-K hereafter) as a federal member state, marking an important milestone in
Aid and Conflict Sensitivity in Contemporary Ethiopia
November 17, 2025
This study assesses conflict sensitivity practices among humanitarian, development and peacebuilding (HDP) actors in Ethiopia. It seeks to raise awareness and foster a deeper understanding of the evolving aid landscape in the country while analysing the challenges that affect conflict-sensitive
Enhancing the Role of Borderland Communities in Ethiopia’s Foreign Policy
October 15, 2025
Ethiopia’s borderland communities (BLCs) have historically influenced the country’s relations with its neighbours. These peripheral regions often serve as hubs for cross-border trade, repositories of natural resources and, at times, flashpoints of conflict. Surrounded by six neighbouring countries – Djibouti,