‘This study is in-depth, up-to-date and the first of its kind on a massive infrastructure development project in the region, examining its history, politics, evolution, the emergence of actors and interests and effects on the poor and marginalized. It…
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
‘The conference has put into perspective what stabilization means in South Sudan as opposed to what it means in Somalia and in the DRC. And putting my own insights on stabilization alongside those of the speakers here has given…
‘Waa sheeko ka mid ah kuwii ugu xiisaha badnaa ee aan la kulmo, oo ka warramaysa waayoaragnimada qurbaawi Soomaali ah, oo ka raadsanaya meel kale, nolol aayatiin dhaanta tan aan xasilloonayn ee geyiga Soomaalida. Akhriskeedu waxa uu ii noqdey…
Land disputes are considered both key sources and perpetuating factors of conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Over the years, scholars and practitioners have identified a number of critical land-related factors contributing to violence and…
Pendant la Seconde Guerre du Congo (1998–2003), le gouvernement de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC) et la société civile congolaise ont tenté, avec le soutien de partenaires internationaux, de venir à bout des cycles consécutifs de mobilisation armée….
In recent years Somalia has earned the ignominy of being ranked ‘one of the worst places in the world to be a woman’, the worst place on Earth to be a mother and ‘one of the worst places in the world…
‘A valuable contribution to the study of borderlands and state formation. It will be of great interest to students, scholars, policymakers and donors.’ REDIE BEREKTEAB, NORDIC AFRICA INSTITUTE, UPSSALA ‘An ethnographic study of two Somali clans with in-depth analyses of…
The mining of Kenya’s coal deposits has started in earnest in line with Kenya’s aspiration to become a middle-income industrialized country by the year 2030. A key element in reaching this goal is the generation of energy to power…
During 2010 and 2011, a secessionist campaign led by a group calling itself the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) dominated debates about coastal politics. As a result of local grievances, the MRC’s call for secession attracted a degree of public…
‘An enlightening exposé of the motives and societal pressures that spur irregular migration, in this particular case, from Somaliland and Puntland. This study could not be timelier given that people smugglers and migrant traffickers have proven themselves to be…
Recent Publications
SHECONF 2026: International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities
July 9, 2026
Event report On 26 March 2026, researchers, practitioners and academics gathered in Addis Ababa for SHECONF 2026, an International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities in Ethiopia, the first of its kind convened by the Ethiopian Women Researchers Network (EWNET).
State Capture in Africa: How elite networks undermine democracy, development and security
June 24, 2026
Key points State capture has been increasingly recognized as a major governance challenge due to the way it helps to drive many of the most pressing problems facing contemporary states, including democratic erosion, corruption, economic exclusion, insecurity and declining trust
The New Geopolitics of Eastern Africa
June 17, 2026
On 20 May, the British Institute of Eastern Africa (BIEA), Chatham House, and the Rift Valley Institute (RVI) convened a group of experts to discuss the ‘The New Geopolitics of Eastern Africa’. The closed-door roundtable considered the ongoing transformation of