SUMMARY This report explores the political economy of checkpoints in Somalia: What drives their formation? What impacts do they have on trade, society and political projects? To explore these factors, new empirical data is presented on the distribution and…
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.
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THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF CHECKPOINTS ALONG THE BAIDOA CORRIDOR SUMMARY • The Baidoa corridor is a transport and trade route that connects Somalia’s coastal capital, Mogadishu, to Kenya via the border towns of Bula Hawa and Dollow, respectively. As…
THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF CHECKPOINTS ALONG SOMALIA’S GARISSA CORRIDOR SUMMARY • The Garissa corridor is an essential artery for trade and exchange between Kismayo in Somalia’s Jubaland state, and the Kenyan city of Garissa. Checkpoints along this route were…
SUMMARY • This report studies the role of religion in recent inter-communal conflicts in Ethiopia outside of Addis Ababa. While not entirely neglecting disputes and perceptions in the capital, it seeks to paint a fuller and more versatile picture…
Find the English version here and the Amharic summary here….
ማጠቃለያ የኢትዮጵያ ሶማሌ ክልል 350,000 ካሬ ኪሎ ሜትር የሚሸፍነው የኦጋዴን ተፋሰስ ነዳጅና የተፈጥሮ ጋዝ ክምችትን ጨምሮ በተፈጥሮ ሀብት የበለፀገ ነው። እነዚህ ሀብቶች በአግባቡ እና በፍትሃዊነት ጥቅም ላይ ከዋሉ ለክልሉ እና ለሀገሪቱ አጠቃላይ ልማት አስተዋፅዖ የማድረግ አቅ ምአላቸው። ይሁን እንጂ…
ማጠቃለያ Find the English version of this report here….
ማጠቃለያ Find the English version of this report here….
SUMMARY • Since the Prosperity Party (PP) came to power in Ethiopia in 2018, expectations have grown that its government will revitalize Ethiopia’s sugar industry through the privatization of eight sugar factories, including plantations of several thousand hectares in…
SUMMARY • Ethiopia’s Afar region, especially around Lake Afdera, is the country’s main source of salt, accounting for 80 per cent of the national market. The salt sector in the region has been dominated by non-Afar investors from neighbouring…
Recent Publications

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Post-2018 Ethiopia: Navigating church–state and inter-religious dynamics
April 4, 2025
This report examines the complex and shifting situation of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) in post-2018 Ethiopia, highlighting its struggle to maintain influence amid political, social and religious changes. In addition to examining both the current EOTC relationship with

Thinking about Borderlands: Observations and implications from XCEPT programme research
March 31, 2025
Do the ways in which policymakers and national governments view borderlands reflect how the communities living there experience them? Building on this, can a better understanding of the characteristics of borderlands help in promoting development, improving governance and making more

Digital Governance and Security in the Horn of Africa
March 28, 2025
While digital finance—including mobile money—has developed unevenly across Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, such technologies are nevertheless transforming everyday economic activities. In some cases, borderlands and cross-border financial flows are central to these digital developments and are driving further innovation. From