Published on the eve of voter registration for the referendum in South Sudan, Race Against Time analyses the unresolved procedural problems, technical difficulties, and disputes threatening the self-determination process. The report includes timelines, a guide to electoral bodies, comparisons…
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.
SEARCH
PUBLICATION TYPE
LANGUAGE
REGION
COUNTRY

- By Aly Verjee
- Download
إن تقرير سباق مع الزمن الذي ينشر أثناء فترة تسجيل الناخبين لإستفتاء جنوب السودان يحلّل المشاكل الاجرائيّة المستعصية والصعوبات الفنيّة والنزاعات التي تهدد عمليّة تقرير المصير في جنوب السودان وابيي. ويوفر التقرير خطوطاً زمنيّة وموجّهات لبهيئات الانتخابية ومقارنات مع…

- By Justin Willis
- Download
يتقصى هذا التقرير التاريخ غير القصير للانتخابات في السودان ويتساءل لماذا لم تستطيع انتخابات التعددية الحزبية، رغم نجاحها الواضح عام 1953، ان تجلب ذلك النوع من الحكومة المستقرة والديناميكية التي يتوقع من الاقتراع السري ان يشجع على قيامها. ويتطلع…
ركز النقاش الدائر حول السودَانيْن، الشمالي والجنوبي، على مسالة أين يمر خط الحدود بينهما. ويفحص التقرير الاول في سلسلة الحدود المتنازع عليها، حينما تصير الحدود الاداريّة حدوداً دوليّة، موضوعاً آخر لكنه يتميّز بنفس القدر من الأهميّة هو: الأثر المحتمل…
Introduction On 10 January 2014, three weeks after the South Sudan crisis began—as peace talks stalled in Addis Ababa and the death toll continued to grow—representatives of South Sudanese civil society met in Nairobi to discuss the crisis, its…
Discussion of the border between Sudan and South Sudan has focused on the question of where the boundary line is to be drawn. When Boundaries Become Borders examines a different, but equally important issue: the potential impact of the…
This report analyses the workings of the justice system in Southern Sudan, focusing on the real-world relationship between local chiefs’ courts and government courts and the ways that litigants navigate between them. Based on extensive interviews with litigants, chiefs,…
Reviews Very useful… highly recommended. AFRICAN AFFAIRS Readable, thought-provoking and intelligent essays that provide a thorough introduction to Sudan and South Sudan SUDAN STUDIES Essential. Original and informative. Belongs in all African studies libraries. CHOICE Succinct and comprehensive AUSTRALASIAN REVIEW OF…
When South Sudan became a separate state in 2011, its northern boundary with the Republic of Sudan became an international border, the longest and most contentious in the region. At the westernmost extremity of Sudan, Kafia Kingi is a…
‘In South Sudan there is no system of governance so popular—yet so little understood—as the federal system. Historically the demand for federation with North Sudan was seen as the way to keep Sudan united, and the absence of such…
Recent Publications

Thinking about Borderlands: Observations and implications from XCEPT programme research
March 31, 2025
Do the ways in which policymakers and national governments view borderlands reflect how the communities living there experience them? Building on this, can a better understanding of the characteristics of borderlands help in promoting development, improving governance and making more

Digital Governance and Security in the Horn of Africa
March 28, 2025
While digital finance—including mobile money—has developed unevenly across Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, such technologies are nevertheless transforming everyday economic activities. In some cases, borderlands and cross-border financial flows are central to these digital developments and are driving further innovation. From

Legally Informal: Women, conflict and cross-border trade in the Mandera tri-border area
March 28, 2025
In the Mandera triangle—a pastoralist region encompassing the point at which the borders of Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia meet—the reality of local and cross-border trade often diverges widely from official state policies of control. This disjunction has created a grey