This paper provides an analysis of the six-month conflict trends in Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State, particularly Metekel zone. As well as providing an overview of the conflict and its main actors, it also examines the political processes that have…
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 African Red Sea Region does not produce enough food to feed its own population. Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somaliland (Somalia) are each reliant on imports to make up for domestic production shortfalls. This presents unresolved challenges to…
Religious actors play an important role in Somalia’s political landscape. Since the collapse of the Somali state in 1991, they have also demonstrated strong staying power when many non-religious actors have come and departed all too quickly. For many…
Urbanization in the Somali territories is transforming Somali society in multiple and profound ways, with the growth of urban centres and networks paralleled by new patterns of accumulation, investment, redistribution, inclusion and exclusion. While the perilous fragility of Somalia’s urban…
War, Migration and Work examines the history of labour migration and labour relations in present day South Sudan’s Baher El-Ghazal borderlands with Darfur and Kordofan (regions of present day Sudan). Beginning in the nineteenth century, the report charts the evolution…
جاء تصميم العملية الانتقالية في السودان لتؤدي إلى – وتتقدم من خلال – انتخابات قومية تثبت نجاح ومصداقية الانتقال السياسي. لكن هذا الأمر ينطوي على مخاطر كبيرة. فقد تتعرض العملية الانتخابية، وخاصة نتائجها، للتشكيك والطعن من قبل أصحاب…
Until the latter part of the twentieth century, South Sudanese boys and girls grew food on household farms for their families to eat. Under this system, children’s work and education were hard to distinguish. Today, however, many boys and…
Sudan’s political transition, which began following the ousting of Omar al-Bashir in 2019, is designed to lead up to—and be advanced by—national elections. Those polls will be crucial to the success and credibility of political transition, but they carry…
Following Somalia’s economic recovery from the civil conflicts of the 1990s and 2000s, the khat trade has become a prominent source of tax revenue, particularly in Galkayo, an important regional hub for commerce between southern/central Somalia and the Port…
With an estimated two million people of Somali descent living outside Somalia—the ‘Somali diaspora’—an understanding of migration and transnational practices is crucial for grasping Somali society. Mobility and mobile livelihoods have been important aspects of Somali life for centuries….
Recent Publications

Launch of the Ethiopian Women Researchers Network (EWNET): Event report
August 18, 2025
This report details the launch event for the Ethiopian Women Researchers Network (EWNET). The event took place on 6 February 2025 from 9.00 a.m.–2.30 p.m. at the Skylight Hotel in Addis Ababa. It was organized by the Peace Research Facility

‘We Want Factories’: Articulating women’s political engagement for a post-socialist Ethiopia
August 14, 2025
EWNET SEMINAR SERIES REPORT The inaugural Ethiopian Women Researchers Network (EWNET) Seminar was delivered by Dr Serawit B. Debele on 15 April 2025 at Addis Ababa University’s Institute for Peace and Security Studies’ (IPSS) New Meeting Hall. Entitled ‘We Want

የድንበሮች ውዝግቦችና ሊያስከትሉት የሚችሉት ምስቅልቅል: በምስራቅ ኢትዮጵያ በኦሮሚያ እና ሶማሊ ክልል አዋሳኝ አካባቢዎች የሚታየው የወሰን ውዝግብና እና ጥንቃቄ የሚሻው የሰላም ጥረት
July 18, 2025
በኦሮሚያ እና በሶማሊ ክልል ድንበር አካባቢ የሚገኙ አከራካሪ ቦታዎች ላይ አስተዳደራዊ ቁጥጥርን ለማጠናከር በሚደረገው ፉክክር የሚነሱ ግጭቶች የተዳፈኑ ቢመስሉም ጨርሰው አልጠፉም። ይህ በምስራቅ አፍሪካ ረጅሙ የሀገር ውስጥ የክልሎች ወሰን ሲሆን፥ አካባቢው ከ2009–2011 ግጭት እና የአገር ውስጥ መፈናቀልን ያስከተለም ነበር። የኢትዮጵያ