Publications

The Institute 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. Blogs can be read here.

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. Print versions of most books and reports, and digital versions in Kindle and other specialist formats, are available for sale from Amazon and other online retailers, and from selected bookstores. Proceeds from sales are allocated to the Institute's Scholarship Fund, which provides support to researchers and activists from eastern and central Africa.

The views expressed in books and reports published by the RVI are those of the authors, not the Institute.

South Sudanese chiefs and elders discuss their roles in peace and conflict

Sudan and South Sudan

Research Papers

Now We Are Zero

Multiple Authors

2017

Now We Are Zero - RVI SSCA Project (2016).pdf

In April 2016, seventeen chiefs from different parts of South Sudan gathered in Kuron Holy Trinity Peace Village, in Eastern Equatoria, to discuss the role of customary authority in governance—past and present—and their own contribution to peacemaking and a future political transition. The Chiefs’ meeting at Kuron was the first time that traditional leaders from areas on opposing sides of the…

Somalia: A state of male power, insecurity and inequality

Rift Valley Forum Rift Valley Forum

Horn of Africa

Briefings

Somalia: A state of male power, insecurity and inequality

Judith Gardner, Judy El-Bushra

2017

Somalia- A state of male power, insecurity and inequality - RVI Impact of War on Men Briefing Paper 2 (2017).pdf

The Rift Valley Institute’s study on the impact of war on Somali men looks into a previously under-researched set of questions: What are the enduring effects of more than two decades of war and violent conflict on Somali men and male youth, and what are the consequences of this for peace, stability and Somali society in general?

The project’s inception phase charted what it means to be…

Rift Valley Forum Rift Valley Forum

Horn of Africa

Meeting Reports

Drought in the Horn of Africa Roundtable

Amina Abdulkadir

2017

Drought in the Horn of Africa roundtable - RVI Rift Valley Forum Meeting Report (2017).pdf

In early 2011, the scale of famine affecting the Horn of Africa was only just beginning to receive international attention, despite early warnings in the previous year. It was not until July that famine was formally declared. The famine killed 250,000 people in southern Somalia alone, and displaced and destroyed the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of others. Many sought refuge in Kenya,…

Rift Valley Forum Rift Valley Forum

Horn of Africa

Research Reports

Land Matters in Mogadishu

Multiple Authors

2017

Land Matters in Mogadishu - RVI Rift Valley Forum and HIPS (2017).pdf

Mogadishu has for more than two decades been one of the most highly contested cities in the world. Since the collapse of President Siyad Barre’s government in early 1991, it has been the object of both military and political struggles almost without interruption. This report considers the current state of land governance and the nature of continuing land disputes in Mogadishu, which remains…

Rift Valley Forum Rift Valley Forum

East Africa

Meeting Reports

Violent Extremism in Kenya

Shilpa Guha

2017

Violent Extremism in Kenya - RVI Rift Valley Forum Meeting Report (2017).pdf

Kenya, along with the rest of the world, has struggled to craft a response to tackling violent extremism, especially since militarist groups have been quick to adjust their recruitment methods to adapt to such responses. Widespread narratives seem to suggest that violent extremism has international origins and is inherently a non- Kenyan problem. Yet one of al-Shabaab’s leaders is from Kenya,…

Rift Valley Forum Rift Valley Forum

Horn of Africa

Meeting Reports

Forging Jubaland

Louise Khabure

2017

Forging Jubaland - RVI Rift Valley Forum Meeting Report (2017).pdf

On 22 April 2016, the Rift Valley Forum hosted the launch of Saferworld’s report, Forging Jubaland, Community Perspectives on Federalism, Governance and Reconciliation. The creation of Jubaland state in 2013 and the controversial appointment of Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam (‘Madobe’) as President of its interim administration, supported by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD),…

Coal: Development, energy and employment

Rift Valley Forum Rift Valley Forum

East Africa

Meeting Reports

Coal: Development, energy and employment

Hannah Waddilove

2017

Coal Development, Energy and Employment - RVI Rift Valley Forum Meeting Report (2017).pdf

The mining of Kenya’s coal deposits has started in earnest in line with Kenya’s aspiration to become a middle-income industrialized country by the year 2030. A key element in reaching this goal is the generation of energy to power industries and making electricity more widely accessible to the population in Kenya.

While the government is making key investments in renewable energy,…

Rift Valley Forum Rift Valley Forum

East Africa

Meeting Reports

Cultural Identity: Kenya and the coast

Hannah Waddilove

2017

Cultural Identity - RVI Rift Valley Forum Meeting Report (2017).pdf

During 2010 and 2011, a secessionist campaign led by a group calling itself the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) dominated debates about coastal politics. As a result of local grievances, the MRC’s call for secession attracted a degree of public sympathy on the coast.

Debates emerged that portrayed two contrasting images of Kenya: the inclusive nation which embraces the coast, and a…

Big Barrier: Youth unemployment at the coast

Rift Valley Forum Rift Valley Forum

East Africa

Meeting Reports

Big Barrier: Youth unemployment at the coast

Hannah Waddilove

2017

Big Barrier - RVI Rift Valley Forum Meeting Report (2017).pdf

In Kenya, 80 per cent of the unemployed are believed to be below the age of 35. The rate of unemployment in Mombasa, Kenya’s second largest city and home to the region’s largest port, is estimated to be 44 per cent. The Kuza project’s definition of unemployment includes those earning less than KES 10,000 (USD 100) per month. This raises concerns of how the Kenyan coast will be able to harness…

Sudan and South Sudan

Research Reports

Instruments in Both Peace and War

Multiple Authors

2016

Instruments in both peace and war - RVI Juba Lecture Series (2016).pdf

With the formation of a Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) and the subsequent outbreak of violence in Juba in July 2016, the role of civil society in South Sudan is more vital than ever. Can a civil society, confident and well resourced, contribute to the political discourse, engage in nation building, hold public institutions to account and improve the transparency of public…

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Where RVI Works

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