​Civil war seems settled as a permanent feature of politics in both Sudan and South Sudan. State and parastatal armed actors, insurgents and armed groups of various sorts are a regularized part of the Sudans’ political economy and ecology, in which civilian non-combatants are the primary victims

Berouk Mesfin, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), interviews Christopher Clapham, Emeritus Professor at the University of Cambridge, and Lee Cassanelli, Associate Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, on the topic of a life of research in the Horn of Africa, on the 2013 Rift Valley Institute Horn of Africa Field Course in Jinja, Uganda.

The RVI's 2014 annual field courses, now in their eleventh year, were held from May to July in Eastern and Central Africa. The Horn of Africa Course held in Kenya, from 31 May to 7 June 2014, and covered Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, (including Somaliland and Puntland), and Northern Kenya. The RVI Sudan and South Sudan Course covered all areas of Sudan and South Sudan, and the…

June and July were months of intensive study for students on the Institute's annual field courses. The courses involved over 140 participants, thirty teachers, and an administrative staff of eight. The 2013 season ended mid-July with the last of the three courses, the Sudan and South Sudan Course. This year’s courses also included the Horn of Africa, held from 8 to 14 June, and the Great Lakes…

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 Oxford. The Director of the course was Aly…

The fourth Horn of Africa course took place in Lamu, Kenya from 4 to 10 June 2011. The directors, Mark Bradbury and Ken Menkhaus, were joined by Sally Healy as Deputy Director of Studies. Lecturers new to the course included Christopher Clapham, Semhar Araia, Jatin Dua, Aklilu Amsalu and Laura Hammond. Lectures were held, as in previous years, at the Factory Arts Centre, with evening sessions…

Michael Woldemariam and Terrence Lyons discuss the history and future of Eritrea on the 2014 Horn of Africa Course.

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 assembly, had a guided tour of the town and its…

The Institute’s third Horn of Africa course took place in Lamu, Kenya, from 29 May to 4 June. The Course was directed by Mark Bradbury and Ken Menkhaus. A number of new lecturers taught on the course this year, including Shiferaw Bekele, Richard Reid, Meron Zeleke, Justin Willis, Dereje Feyissa, Daniel Varisco and Andrew Catley. Lectures were held in The Factory arts centre; evening sessions…