This briefing paper–part of a larger report–was commissioned by Somalia Stability Fund (SSF) with the aim of conducting a comprehensive literature review on land conflict in Somalia. The report was motivated by two factors: first is the desire to…
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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Cross-border trade is crucial for ongoing state building in the Somali inhabited Horn of Africa. This is significantly enabled by revenue collection at border crossings, which forms a crucial part of states’ finances in this region. Cross-border trade is…
Situated between Somalia’s Federal Member States of Puntland and Galmudug, the city of Galkayo forms an administrative and social boundary within the broader Bosaso trade corridor, which encompasses Puntland, Galmudug and Hirshabelle. Located at the edge of Puntland but…
In Somaliland and Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State, small-scale informal trading far exceeds formal trade. However, most recent writing on trade in this region has disproportionately focused on formal trade thus neglecting a key area of economic activity. In contrast,…
Lasanod is located on the border between the Republic of Somaliland and Somalia’s federal state of Puntland. Now under the administrative control of Somaliland, the city is contested— sometimes violently— between the two polities, which are both products of…
The Sudan-Eritrea-Ethiopia border region has long been a place of deep interconnection. Historically, collaboration across ethno-linguistic and religious divides allowed communities to develop life-sustaining complementary strategies for utilizing the region’s natural resources. These traditional patterns of human-environment interaction both…
Since around 2015, the importance of the Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, in the affairs of countries in the Horn of Africa has been growing. At the same time, Turkey, which made…
Since around 2015, the importance of the Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, in the affair of countries in the Horn of Africa has been growing. At the same time, Turkey, which…
In the Horn of Africa there is a dynamic interplay between land and sea that has shaped political, economic and social relationships. Historical and contemporary instances of piracy in the Western Indian Ocean, at different times, precipitated a securitization of…
This briefing is an output of the Diaspora Humanitarianism in Complex Crises (D-Hum) project, a partnership between the Danish Institute for International Studies, Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi, Rako Research and Communication Centre, and the Rift Valley Institute. Key…
Recent Publications
The Social Impact of the Changing Course of the Nabek River in Kakuma Refugee Camp
January 20, 2025
This blog examines the social impact of the shifting course of the Nabek River in Kakuma refugee camp where, when the river overflows and changes direction, it sweeps away homes, forcing refugees to migrate internally. By Robert Aharanya Claudio Introduction
የድሬ ዳዋ ከተማ መልከ ብዙ ውዝግቦት
January 14, 2025
ከኢትዮጵያ ከተሞች በሕዝብ ብዛት ሁለተኛ የሆነችው ድሬ ዳዋ ከተማ፣ በምስራቁ የሀገሪቱ ክፍል የብሔረሰቦች፣ የቋንቋ እና የኃይማኖት ብዝኃነት የሚገለጥባት ማዕከል መሆኗ ይታወቃል። ነገር ግን በ2010 የተደረገውን ሀገራዊ የፖለቲካ ለውጥ ተከትሎ፣ በርካታ ጎብኚዎችን የምታስተናግደውና በሰላሟ የምትታወቀው ከተማ ለሁለት ዓመታት የብሔር እና የኃይማኖት
ሆሳዕና፡ ከትንሽ ወታደራዊ ካምፕነት በሬሚታንስ ወደ ጎመራች የኢኮኖሚ ማዕከልነት
January 13, 2025
ይህ ጽሑፍ አዲስ በተቋቋመው የማዕከላዊ ኢትዮጵያ ክልላዊ መንግሥት ውስጥ በሀዲያ ዞን በምትገኘው ሆሳዕና ከተማ ለሀብት ባለቤትነት እና ቁጥጥር የሚደረግ ውዝግብ ላይ የተደረገ ጥናት ሪፖርት ነው። ጥናቱ የከተማዋን መስፋፋት ተከትሎ በቀድሞ በተወሰኑ ቡድኖች ተይዞ የነበረው የማኅበራዊ እና ኢኮኖሚያዊ ኃይል ተገለው በነበሩ