SUMMARY In rural South Sudan, markets for food, labour, and land are expanding, leading to increased workloads for women. Historically, rural women had two primary labour burdens: producing food for home consumption and providing essential life-giving labour such as…
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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SUMMARY • Across South Sudan, women of different socio-economic backgrounds and experiences are fighting to take up positions of authority at all levels. This process is uneven, non-linear, and socially complex.• The ways in which women are organizing for…
Girls and women in South Sudan face numerous barriers and challenges: customary law often denies women the right to own land, girls’ access to education remains precarious and harmful traditional practices continue to place women and girls at risk…
This research paper builds on work the Rift Valley Institute (RVI) has conducted on the Sudan–Ethiopia borderland under the XCEPT programme since 2021. This culminated in the report ‘Resistance in the Peripheries: Fragile peace and civil war in Sudan…
This report examines the roles of women in peace and conflict resolution processes in South Sudan. It highlights how women navigate systemic exclusion and use cultural practices like songs and dance to assert their voices and influence decisions. Despite…
This report examines the impact of local fishing practices on women’s livelihoods in Lake State, South Sudan. It highlights the transition from traditional fishing to market-oriented fishing and the resulting economic opportunities and challenges for women. Despite historical gender…
South Sudan’s healthcare system faces significant challenges, particularly in rural areas where access to clinical services is limited and costly. Many South Sudanese turn to traditional healers who use herbal medicines and spiritual methods due to a lack of…
- By Marlin John Serefino
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This blog explores traditional narratives of South Sudanese on climate change, their lived experiences, as well as perceptions on appropriate responses to the impacts of climate change. Introduction This blog is about traditionally oriented perceptions of climate change in Juba…
- By Maketh Deng
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In this blog, Maketh traces the roots of intercommunal conflicts in Lakes State, South Sudan to the legacies of war, dowry demands and climate change, and subsequently calls for reconciliation processes and skills training in order to mitigate the…
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Putting good governance into effect in the nascent state of South Sudan has proven to be a nightmare, largely due to the presence of recalcitrant public institutions where public affairs and resources are unethically executed, undermining other…
Recent Publications
State Capture in Africa: How elite networks undermine democracy, development and security
June 24, 2026
Key points State capture has been increasingly recognized as a major governance challenge due to the way it helps to drive many of the most pressing problems facing contemporary states, including democratic erosion, corruption, economic exclusion, insecurity and declining trust
The New Geopolitics of Eastern Africa
June 17, 2026
On 20 May, the British Institute of Eastern Africa (BIEA), Chatham House, and the Rift Valley Institute (RVI) convened a group of experts to discuss the ‘The New Geopolitics of Eastern Africa’. The closed-door roundtable considered the ongoing transformation of
Commodification and Conflict in the Horn of Africa Borderlands
April 1, 2026
This report synthesizes findings from the Rift Valley Institute’s X-Border Local Research Network (2019–2025). In the surveyed studies, 25 leading local and international area specialists conducted extensive qualitative fieldwork across borderlands in South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and the Somali