In May 2001, Somaliland’s citizens went to the polls to approve an interim constitution in a public referendum coordinated by the Government of Somaliland. The constitution called for multi-party politics and democratic elections. Since then, Somaliland has held a…
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 legacy of Somali piracy, the threat of terrorists transiting between Yemen and Somalia, and the deepening conflict in Yemen, mean international actors tend to view the Gulf of Aden through a security lens. This report outlines the local…
I applaud and respect Dr. Adan, my friend and colleague for twenty years, for his sense of justice and firm determination to contribute to peace and human rights in Somaliland. I especially admire Adan’s steadfast support for gender justice…
Key Points International investment in Somaliland’s strategically located Berbera port may turn it into a new logistical gateway to East Africa and boost economic development in the self-declared republic. Berbera port has played a key role in the formation…
The Rift Valley Institute’s Rural to urban mobility project aims to better understand the dynamics of rural to urban migration and the ways in which this phenomenon impacts the social and infrastructural fabric of cities in East Africa. It is conducted…
A comparative study of three regional peace agreements: the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan, Somalia’s Mbgathi peace process, from 2002 – 2004, and the 2000 Ethiopia-Eritrea Algiers Agreement. It examines the background and the historical context of the…
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is in a period of transition. After a year of military successes it needs a new mandate to support the new Federal Government of Somalia, which has identified provision of security across…
Key points The so-called Arab Spring is not an appropriate analogy: there was no single authority to bring down and there was no popular uprising. The election of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as President of Somalia was the culmination of…
Key points The concept of a hybrid political order is useful in understanding post-conflict state formation, in the Horn of Africa and elsewhere. For policy-makers supporting the re-establishment of government institutions in Somalia, the example of Somaliland is instructive….
Key points The Kenyan government’s hardening stance towards the return of Somali refugees and its recent directive to send all urban refugees to camps are a reaction to changing conditions in Kenya, in particular a series of security incidents…
Recent Publications
‘THE FUEL IS US’: WATER, OIL AND DEBT ON THE SUDAN-SOUTH SUDAN BORDERLANDS
February 18, 2025
South Sudan and Sudan’s borderlands are run by a patchwork of armed authorities. Since early 2019, when opposition forces were effectively wiped out, these zones of control have remained relatively fixed, even as the war in Sudan drew close to
Conflict, displacement and children in paid work in the Sudan-South Sudan borderlands
February 17, 2025
In this blog, Manal examines the pressures forcing many displaced people, including children, to seek paid labour to supplement dwindling support mechanisms in camps in South Sudan. The author draws on her research in 2024 as part of the XCEPT
DOMINANT PATTERNS AND DYNAMICS OF URBAN CONTESTATIONS IN HAWASSA
February 12, 2025
Studying urban contestations in Ethiopia’s secondary cities can help us understand how the urban centres outside of Addis Ababa are evolving during an ongoing period of significant socio-economic and political change. In this regard, Hawassa in Sidama region provides an