Dereje Feyissa and Fana Gebresenbet, with Abreham Abebe This report offers a case study of the contestation for ownership and control of key urban resources in Hosanna, located in the Hadiya zone of the newly formed Central Ethiopia Regional…
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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Dire Dawa, the second-most populous city in Ethiopia, is known as a melting pot of ethnic, language and religious groups in the east of the country. In the aftermath of the 2018 national political transition, however, the city, which…
ይህ ሪፖርት በደቡብ ኢትዮጵያ ከ2010 ጀምሮ የተተገበረውን የአስተዳደር ክላስተር መልሶ ማዋቀር ተከትሎ፣ በዘይሴ እና በጋሞ እንዲሁም በቀቤና እና በጉራጌ ብሔረሰቦች መካከል በተከሰቱ ውጥረቶች ላይ ያተኩራል። ከ2010 ጀምሮ ከድንበር ይገባኛል እና ራስን በራስ ከማስተዳደር ጥያቄዎች ጋር ተያይዘው የሚነሱ ግጭቶች በኢትዮጵያ…
This report was written for the Ethiopia Peace Research Facility (PRF) and is part of its Knowledge for Peace (K4P) series on contested borderlands The PRF is an independent facility combining timely analysis on peace and conflict from Ethiopian…
Why are the majority of refugees in Kakuma and Kalobeyei refugee camps in north–west Kenya resistant to the Kenyan government’s new official policy of integration with the local community? This paper explores this question through personal interviews and focus…
This paper explores how agency and livelihoods are articulated and shaped in the overall picture of refugee life as a whole, specifically in Kakuma refugee camp in north-western Kenya. It digs into the details of how refugees exercise self-reliance,…
This paper investigates the coping and adaptation strategies used by women in Kakuma refugee camp in response to water scarcity, a pressing issue worsened by climate change. Qualitative data collection methods, including focus group discussions, interviews and observations, were…
This paper explores how precarity shapes life for Somali refugees in Kakuma refugee camp, north–western Kenya. Contrasting contemporary precarity with the uncertainty that previously shaped livelihoods and social structures in Somali pastoralist communities back home, the study asks not…
SUMMARY The Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) of Addis Ababa University and the Peace Research Facility (PRF) of the Rift Valley Institute (RVI) jointly organized a seminar on the theme ‘Rethinking Ethiopia: A Seminar on Youth Voices’,…
By Terje Østebø SUMMARY In the wake of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) gaining power in 1991, a religious resurgence driven by various Islamic reform movements produced a more active, visible Muslim community. Over time, the government…
Recent Publications
Minor Demarcations, Micro-Dams—Major Drama? Ethno-territorial expansionism and precarious peace in the Oromia–Somali borderlands of eastern Ethiopia
May 20, 2025
The report highlights the overlapping claims to and distributive struggles over territory and resources in the Oromia-Somali borderlands which animated inter-regional competition between the Oromia Regional State (ORS) and Somali Regional State (SRS), resulted in the brief 2023 uptick in
When Women Sing: How Murle women use arts and cultural mediums to communicate
May 16, 2025
This research explores how Murle women in the Greater Pibor area of central eastern South Sudan use not just songs but dance, hairstyles, body marks and beads to express themselves. Its objective is to draw attention to the ways Murle
Effectiveness of Women in Politics and Improving Gender Equality in South Sudan
May 2, 2025
This report argues that, in order to improve women’s participation in politics and promote gender-responsive policies in the country, there is a need to enlarge government capacity for women’s leadership by introducing equal gender quotas for decision-making positions. Summary Women’s