Key points Fiction is a powerful tool through which one can map a place, expose its complex identity and people to a wider audience, and keep a place alive for the exiled writer. Local knowledge is key in understanding…
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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Key points Hybrid political orders are a reality in Somalia and have played an important role in political recovery and stabilization, but can become an obstacle to democratization. War can serve as a tool of state-building and can create…
Key points The 2013 Somalia Conference in London is different from the 2012 London Conference on Somalia because it is co-hosted by the governments of Somalia and UK. The purpose of the 2012 London Conference on Somalia was to…
Key points Enormous internal innovation is taking place within pastoralist communities, challenging the perception that pastoralist communities simply cope and adapt, and revealing sustainable pathways for pastoral development. Government apathy towards the pastoral economy means that Kenya, in contrast…
Key points The impact of war on Somali men is poorly understood in Somali society and among international policy makers and aid organizations. The prevalence of rape in Somalia is indicative of the profound impact of war, the collapse…
Key points The upcoming conference is different from any previous conferences on Somalia in that it will be represented by a legitimate, non-transitional Federal Government of Somalia with an agenda set by Somalis. With regional governments, including Somaliland and…
Key points Few people document their family’s experiences as vividly as Nadifa Mohamed did while writing her first novel, a process in which she describes herself as being her father’s griot, or praise-singer. While it is critics who put…
Key points The stakes for the November 2012 local council elections were exceedingly high, with the winning three parties eligible to contest the parliamentary and presidential elections for the next ten years. The results were highly contested but mostly…
Key points Remittances from abroad are a vital lifeline for households in Somalia. 40% rely on them to meet food security needs. The majority of remittances to Somalia, Puntland and Somaliland are through licensed money transfer operators (MTOs) rather…
Key points IGAD’s engagement with Somalia has helped to sustain international interest in Somali issues. IGAD is perceived by many Somalis as representing the interests of Kenya and Ethiopia rather than Somalia. Somalis would like to see more practical…
Recent Publications

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

የከተሞች ውዝግቦች በኢትዮጵያ፡ የድሬ ዳዋ፥ ሐዋሳና ሆሳዕና ጥናቶች ጭምቅ
July 18, 2025
በኢትዮጵያ ከአዲስ አበባ ያሉ ከተሞች ውስጥ የሚታዩ ውዝግቦችን ማጥናት ከመዲናይቱ በመቀጠል ያሉ ከተሞች ጉልህ በሆኑ የማኅበረ-ኢኮኖሚያዊና ፖለቲካዊ ለውጦች መሐል እንዴት እየተለዋወጡ እንደመጡ ለመረዳት ያግዛል። የኢትዮጵያ የከተማ ማዕከሎች የአገሪቱ የፖለቲካ ግጭቶች፥ የኢኮኖሚ ምስቅልቅሎችና ማኅበረ-ባህላዊ ስብራቶች የሚገኙባቸው ስፍራዎች ናቸው። ይህ ጭምቅ የጥናቶች

የሕዝባዊ ክዋኔዎችና የፖለቲካ መልክ በአዲስ አበባ
July 18, 2025
ከ2010 ወዲህ ያለው የኢትዮጵያ የፖለቲካ ምህዳር በጋራ ትውስታዎች የተሰናሰሉ የታሪክ አተረጓጎሞች የፖለቲካ ወገንተንነትን እንደሚቀርፁ የሚያሳይ ነው። ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ዐቢይ አህመድ ወደ ሥልጣን እንደመጡ የታላቁ ትውፊት ትርክቶችን (great tradition narratives) ማቀንቀናቸው የርሳቸው ድጋፍ ማዕከል ከሆነውና ይህንን ትርክት ከሚገዳደረው የኦሮሞ ማኅበረሰብ የታሪክ