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Rift Valley Institute
Courses 2016
General Information
PARTICIPANTS AND TEACHING STAFF
The courses are designed for aid workers, policy-makers, researchers,
business executives, and diplomats—both those living and
working in the countries of Eastern and Central Africa and those
about to start. They are taught by teams composed of leading
international and regionally-based specialists and activists.
AN IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME
The courses offer a dawn-to-dusk programme of lectures,
seminars, panel discussions and debates. Bringing together new
research, fresh analysis, established and emerging experts, the
courses consider current political and development challenges
in their historical, social and economic context. The residential
nature of the courses provides opportunities for extended
professional networking with international and regional
specialists, and other colleagues working in and on the region.
This year the courses will be held in Entebbe, Uganda, on the
shores of Lake Victoria.
HOW TO APPLY
Applications close on 7 May 2016. To apply online—and to obtain
further information on courses, staff, and locations—please visit
www.riftvalley.net/key-projects/courses. Applications are
considered in order of receipt. Participants in the courses are
eligible for three optional graduate-level credits in the US
tertiary educational system. Locations, staff, and other course
arrangements may be subject to change.
FLIGHTS, VISAS AND TUITION FEES
The cost of each course is USD 4,100. The fee covers tuition,
special events, local transport, advance course literature, and
seven nights’ full board and accommodation. Flights to and from
the course location are not included in the fee. For advice on
flights, visas and other questions, please contact the Institute.
THE RIFT VALLEY INSTITUTE
The RVI (www.riftvalley.net) is a non-profit organisation that
works in Eastern and Central Africa to advance understanding of
the region and its communities, connecting local knowledge to
social and political action, defending freedom of information and
promoting social justice. The Institute is registered as UK Charity
No 1144010.
CONTACTS
Email
[email protected]
Kenya Office
Postal address
PO Box 52771 GPO
00100 Nairobi
Physical address
Junction of Laikipia Road
and Migori Road
Kileleshwa, Nairobi
+254 705 978 413
+254 789 253 805
South Sudan Office
Hamza Inn, Hai Souk, Juba
+211 914 485 603
Somaliland Office
Off Jigjiga Yar Road
Koodbuur District, Hargeysa
+252 633 878 098
2016
RIFT VALLEY INSTITUTE
FIELD COURSES 2016
UK Office
26 St Luke’s Mews
London W11 1DF
+44 20 7229 2562
US Office
Bard College, PO Box 5000
Annandale-on-Hudson
NY 12504-5000
Online
Rift Valley Institute
www.riftvalley.net
RVI YouTube Channel
www.youtube.com/
RiftValleyInstitute
Great Lakes 11 June - 17 June
Sudan & South Sudan 25 June - 1 July
Horn of Africa 9 July - 15 July
www.riftvalley.net
Published April 2016
Rift Valley Institute
Great Lakes Course
Entebbe, Uganda 11 June – 17 June
SCOPE OF THE COURSE
The Great Lakes Course covers the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Burundi, providing a deep historical
and social context to the current political and humanitarian
dynamics in the region. In the DRC, the Course will look into the
debates around the electoral process and the ongoing violence
in the Kivus. For Burundi, the ongoing political crisis and its
impact on domestic and regional stability will be examined, while
for Rwanda, the course will focus on the role of Rwanda in the
region, justice and reconciliation, and political dynamics ahead
of the 2017 elections. The course is in English and French with
simultaneous translation.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SYLLABUS
day 1 A history of land, violence and statebuilding in the region.
day 2 The DRC: Violence in the Kivus; the Congo Wars; armed
groups in the east; mining and corruption.
day 3 Burundi: Post-independence Burundi; the CNDD-FDD since
1993; external engagement in the ongoing crisis.
day 4 Rwanda: The genocide; memory and justice, development
and governance under the RPF.
day 5 Elections and term limits: Burundi 2015, Uganda 2016, DRC
2016, Rwanda 2017.
day 6 International interventions: Security, governance and
peacekeeping in the region.
CORE TEACHING STAFF
Jason Stearns Co-Director of Studies
Director, Congo Research Group, New York University
Yolande Bouka PhD Co-Director of Studies
Researcher, Institute for Security Studies
Willy Nindorera
Independent Political Analyst, Bujumbura
Judith Verweijen PhD
Senior Researcher, Nordic Africa Institute
Jean Omasombo Tshonda PhD
Researcher, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren
Aidan Russell PhD
Assistant Professor, International History, Graduate Institute, Geneva
Emmanuel de Merode PhD
Director, Virunga National Park
Aymar Nyenyezi Bisoka
PhD candidate, Université Catholic Leuven, Belgium
Rift Valley Institute
Sudan & South Sudan Course
Entebbe, Uganda 25 June – 1 July
SCOPE OF THE COURSE
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of 2005 was
supposed to end Sudan’s long civil war and lead to sociopolitical stability, democratic transformation, and economic
development. The 2016 Sudan and South Sudan course will
review the impact of the CPA on the internal dynamics of each
country over the last eleven years, the relations between them,
ongoing internal conflicts, and civilian life. As in previous years
the course addresses the challenge of working in this complex,
fluid environment, linking analysis of current events to contextual
understanding of history, society and economy.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SYLLABUS
Rift Valley Institute
Horn of Africa Course
Entebbe, Uganda 9 July – 15 July
SCOPE OF THE COURSE
The Horn of Africa Course covers Ethiopia, the Somali regions,
Eritrea, Djibouti, and northern Kenya. The social and political
histories of each country in the Horn of Africa are examined to
contextualise the continuities and transformations that are taking
place across the region. A variety of disciplinary perspectives
and new research is brought to bare on conflict, climate and
environmental change, livelihoods, hydro-politics, gender,
culture, migration and the challenges of foreign aid to build a
holistic understanding of contemporary developments and crises
afflicting the peoples of the Horn.
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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SYLLABUS
Guma Kunda Guma PhD Co-Director of Studies
day 1 Land, people, identities: Geography and environment;
religions, nationalism and other -isms.
day 2 History: Continuity, Trends and Transformations in the
Horn.
day 3 Contemporary Ethiopia and Eritrea: Political trends since
1991; the developmental state; post-Meles politics; foreign policy.
day 4 Contemporary Somalia, Somaliland, Puntland, Djibouti
and northern Kenya: State and peace building; federalism and
devolution; elections; al-Shabaab and refugees.
day 5 Borders, Migration, and Regional Dynamics: Borders and
boundaries; population movements; diaspora and remittances;
regional economic trends.
day 6 Development and Humanitarian Challenges:
Humanitarianism; pastoralism; media; stabilization.
x
CORE TEACHING STAFF
Nada Mustafa Ali PhD
Department Head, Development Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies
day 1 Peoples, cultures, identities, and beliefs in the two Sudans.
day 2 Ecology, human geography and livelihoods.
day 3 The State: The history of state formation, governance and
political control.
day 4 Conflict: The causes of continuing conflict and attempts at
peacebuilding.
day 5 Post-CPA: Political economy, the media, gender, youth,
political and civil activism.
day 6 International interventions: Regional and international
relations, lessons from past development, humanitarian and
diplomatic initiatives.
CORE TEACHING STAFF
Douglas Johnson PhD Co-Director of Studies
Independent historian, author of The Root Causes of Sudan’s Civil Wars
Associate Professor of Human Geography, University of Bahri, Khartoum
Lecturer in Women and Gender Studies, University of Massachusetts
Magdi el-Gizouli MD
Freiburg University; www.stillsudan.blogspot.com
Cherry Leonardi PhD
Senior Lecturer in History, Durham University
Jok Madut Jok PhD
Secretary General, South Sudan National Research Council
Daniel Large PhD
Assistant Professor, Central European University, Budapest
Atem Yaak Atem
Independent journalist
Laura Hammond PhD Co-Director of Studies
Terrence Lyons PhD Co-Director of Studies
Professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University
Nimo-ilhan Ali
School of Oriental and African Studies, London
Matt Bryden
Executive Director, Sahan Research
Michael Woldemariam PhD
Assistant Professor, International Relations & Political Science, Boston University
Christopher Clapham PhD
Emeritus Professor, Politics & International Relations, University of Cambridge
Mark Bradbury
RVI Horn of Africa and East Africa Regional Director