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…
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 unresolved status of Mogadishu is one of the key outstanding issues in Somalia’s political settlement. Since 2012, Somalia has made progress in clarifying its federal model through the establishment of Federal Member States (FMS) and efforts – albeit…
Maqaamka Muqdisho oo aan weli la xalin ayaa kamid ah arrimaha ugu muhiimsan heshiiska siyaasadda Soomaaliya. Lagasoo bilaabo sanadkii 2012, Soomaaliya waxay horumar ka samaysay in la caddeeyo nooca federaalka iyadoo la dhisay Dowlad-goboleedyo sidoo kalena la sameeyay dadaallo…
Somalia first formally adopted a federal model in 2004 with the establishment of the Transitional Federal Charter. Since then, it has been deepened and clarified with the adoption of the Provisional Federal Constitution in 2012 and the subsequent formation…
Soomaaliya ayaa markii ugu horreysay si rasmi ah u qaadatay hannaanka federaalka sannadkii 2004-tii markii la sameeyay Axdiga Federaalka Kumeelgaarka. Tan iyo markaas, dhidibada ayaa loo aasay iyadoo la qeexay markii la meel mariyay Dastuurka Federaalka Kumeelgaarka ah ee…
Somalia formally adopted a federal system in 2004 with the establishment of the Transitional Federal Government. This model became more established in 2012 with the ratification of the Provisional Federal Constitution (PFC), which clarified many critical areas of Somalia’s…
Soomaaliya waxa ay qaadatay nidaamka federaalka sanadii 2004 markaasoo la dhisay dowlad kumeelgaar ah. Nidaamkan ayaa noqday mid asaaskiisa la adkeeyay sannadkii 2012 kadib markii la ansixiyay Dastuurka Federaalka Kumeelgaarka, kaasoo caddeeyay meelo badan oo xasaasi ah oo ku…
Ururrada diinta ayaa door muhiim ah ku leh siyaasadda Soomaaliya. Tan iyo burburkii qarankii Soomaaliya 1991-kii, waxay sidoo kale muujiyeen adkeysi xooggan iyadoo jilayaal badan oo oo kale ay soo ifbaxeen si degdeg ahna saaxadda uga baxeen. Tani waxay…
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…
Over the past decade, there have been several important gains made with Somalia’s state-building process, notably the establishment of a Federal Government following the endorsement of the Provisional Constitution in 2012. This was followed by the formation of Federal…
Recent Publications

Writing Ethiopia into the World, Writing the World from Ethiopia
October 7, 2026
The Ethiopian Women Researchers Network (EWNET) hosted an online scholarly webinar on Friday, 30 January 2026, titled ‘Writing Ethiopia into the World and Writing the World from Ethiopia’. The webinar examined how Ethiopia has been represented within global knowledge production

The Political Economy of Coffee in the Kaffa–Bench-Sheko–Sheka Belt, Southwest Ethiopia Region
October 6, 2026
This study provides a critical political economy analysis of the coffee sector in the Kaffa–Bench-Sheko–Sheka belt in Southwest Ethiopia Peoples’ Regional State, the genetic and cultural heartland of Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica). Based on 47 key respondent interviews, the study

The Political Economy of Coffee in the Jimma–Ilu Aba Bora–Buno Bedele Belt, Oromia Region
October 5, 2026
The findings of this study reveal a number of critical insights about the political economy of coffee in the Jimma–Ilu Aba Bora–Buno Bedele coffee belt. The coffee economy is shaped by a small number of influential actors, including state institutions,