South Sudan, The Youngest Country on Earth, Is Not Without History
A Hungarian researcher in Juba explains how a sixty-year-old letter in the National Archive of South Sudan led him to a prescient piece of reportage by Wolfgang Langewiesche, an American journalist of the 1950s. …I reached the last pages of a dusty and never-opened file in the National Archive of South Sudan when I found this letter. […]
Great Lakes Course 2012
The third Great Lakes Course was held in Bujumbura, Burundi from 7 to 13 July. The Director of Studies was Jason Stearns, also director of RVI’s Usalama Project and author of the acclaimed Dancing in the Glory of Monsters. The Deputy Director of Studies was Emily Paddon, Trudeau Scholar and Lecturer in International Relations at the University of […]
Sudan Course 2011
The eighth Sudan Course was held in Rumbek from 25 to 31 May. The course was directed by Peter Woodward and John Ryle. New teaching staff included: Abduljabar Abdalla Fadul, Ahmed Abusin, Harry Verhoeven and Guma Kunda Komey. Lectures took place in Rumbek Senior Secondary School and the Palm Tree Hotel. Participants took part in the weekly school […]
DFID Research for Development Database
Summary: There are a limited number of UK-based research institutes that include a focus on conflict and development in Sudan. Experts indicate that the Rift Valley Institute (RVI) is the main organisation involved in Sudanese research. Other research institutes that incorporate Sudan or South Sudan in their programming include: the Royal African Society; the Royal […]
Sudan Course 2010
The seventh Sudan Course was held in Rumbek from the 12 to 18 June. The course was directed by Eddie Thomas and Cherry Leonardi. New teaching staff this year included: Alfred Lokuji, Munzoul Assal, Wendy James, Adam Azzain, Zeinab Badawi, Magdi el-Gizouli and Jérôme Tubiana. Lectures took place in Rumbek Senior Secondary School. Teaching continued […]
‘Federalism not the same as Kokora’, says scholar
A leading scholar of South Sudanese affairs said Saturday that federalism is not the same as Kokora. Giving a lecture on federalism during a debate at Juba University, Dr Douglas Johnson of the Rift Valley Institute said that Kokora should not be considered as a system of government. “Let us be clear, Kokora is not the same […]
Sudan Course 2009
The sixth RVI Sudan Course was held in Rumbek Senior Secondary School from 24 to 30 May 2009. The directors of the course were Eddie Thomas and Cherry Leonardi. New teaching staff this year included Akolda Tier, Omer Egemi, Mom Arou, Jago Salmon and Samia el-Nagar. Staff and students participated in classes with students from […]
Intellectuals Advise On Chiefs Involvement In Nation Building
South Sudanese Intellectuals have called on the government to involve chiefs in decision making process since they play a key role in enhancing policy formulation and implementation. This call came following a two days public lecture on culture and nation in South Sudan held in Juba University late last week. Some of the key speakers […]
Review of The Sudan Handbook
Tom Porteous of Human Rights Watch reviews the Sudan Handbook. In 2004 the Rift Valley Institute organised its first Sudan field course. The course was conceived in a spirit of cautious optimism and motivated by a simple idea. Already by that time it was clear that the negotiations in Kenya between the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation […]
South Sudan’s Kings and Chiefs in the courts of Ghana
17 March, 2013 (LONDON) – A delegation of South Sudan’s Traditional Leaders (TLs) has completed a tour of African countries in which a successful synthesis of governance at the local and centralised levels has been achieved. … Between July and October 2010, draft law consultations were conducted throughout South Sudan with civil society and governmental […]