Policy Brief
One question, answered. It opens with the finding rather than the background, and closes with what a decision-maker should do differently on Monday.
- Length
- 4–8 pages
- Cadence
- As the question arises
Hargeisa, Republic of Somaliland12°35′N 43°25′E · BAB EL-MANDEB
Independent research on the Red Sea corridor, from inside the region.
Red Sea Research & Policy Institute is a non-partisan think tank in Hargeisa. It studies the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb strait and the Horn of Africa for the governments, institutions and operators who have to act on them.
Programmes5research pillars, from security to strategic foresight
Formats4publication formats, each with its length and cadence stated
Monitor3questions, in the same order, every month
Severity12months on the corridor severity strip, in every edition
One of the world’s most consequential corridors is analysed almost entirely from somewhere else.
RSRPI was founded to close that distance. The strait the world’s trade passes through sits at the Institute’s door; the research starts from the realities on the ground and carries them into the rooms where decisions are made.
Founded 1 February 2026 in Hargeisa · Independent research · Policy analysis · Strategic insight
About the Institute01Research
This month’s principal output
The long-form report the Institute is currently arguing from, and the Monitor edition that tracks the corridor around it.
Bab el-Mandeb · editorial imageTwelve-month severity · sample data
The Berbera Corridor and Horn–Gulf TradePort expansion is redrawing the Horn’s logistics map. We assess the corridor’s promise, its risks and the policy choices ahead.6 min readUndersea Cables & the Red Sea’s Digital LifelineThe corridor carries a vast share of global internet traffic. We map where it is physically vulnerable, and where nobody has clear responsibility for it.22 min readRecognition, Sovereignty & the Somaliland QuestionA measured look at the diplomatic stakes and pathways shaping the Horn’s contested political map.8 min readMonthly Red Sea Monitor — May 2026Naval movements, port throughput and the diplomatic calendar that defined the month across the corridor.Read
Sample content — illustrative placeholders carried from the Institute’s own material. RSRPI will replace them with its real work.
02The region
One corridor, held open
The Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb and the Horn of Africa form one connected system. The Institute treats it as one subject.
- A chokepointBab el-Mandeb is one of the world’s critical maritime chokepoints, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
- A corridorShipping lanes, ports, energy transport routes and undersea cables run the length of the Red Sea, linking Europe and Asia.
- A neighbourhoodThe surrounding states face intertwined questions of security, recognition, governance, trade and climate.
- A vantage pointMost institutions publishing on the corridor sit thousands of kilometres from it. RSRPI works from Hargeisa and staffs its research from the region.
STYLISED · NOT FOR NAVIGATION · NO POLITICAL BOUNDARIES DEPICTED
03Programmes
Where the research is focused
The pillars divide the corridor into questions that can actually be researched. A single report often draws on three of them.
01Security & Strategic AffairsMaritime and regional securityProgramme 01 02Geopolitics & DiplomacyAlliances, recognition and mediationProgramme 02 03Trade, Ports & Blue EconomyShipping, infrastructure and the seaProgramme 03 04Governance, Law & PolicyMaritime law and institutionsProgramme 04 05Data, Intelligence & Strategic ForesightOSINT, scenarios and early warningProgramme 05
04Output
What the Institute issues
Each format answers a different kind of question. Every one states its length and its cadence up front, so a reader knows what they are committing to before opening it.
Strategic Report
The long-form product: full method, evidence and citation. The executive summary is written to stand alone for a reader who never reaches page two.
- Length
- 30–60 pages
- Cadence
- Several times a year
Red Sea Monitor
The recurring product. Three questions every month, in the same order, so editions can be read against each other rather than one at a time.
- Length
- Fixed three-part structure
- Cadence
- Monthly, on a fixed day
Early-Warning Alert
Issued against events, not a calendar. It states what moved, when it was observed, and what it implies for the weeks immediately ahead.
- Length
- Short, dated, single-issue
- Cadence
- Whenever a situation changes
05The recurring product
Red Sea Monitor
The same three questions every month: what changed in the corridor, what it means, and what to watch next.
JULAUGSEPOCTNOVDECJANFEBMARAPRMAYJUN
SAMPLE DATA · the scale is the Institute’s own four-level reading, published with every edition
06Readership
Who the research is written for
The Institute writes for people who have to act on the corridor, and formats the work for the decision in front of them.
Governments and ministries
Foreign affairs, defence, ports and trade portfolios in the states along the corridor.
Regional and multilateral bodies
The kind of reader who needs a regional position argued from evidence before a meeting, not after it.
Universities and researchers
Scholars working on the Horn and the Red Sea who need sourced regional material they can cite and check.
Journalists and editors
Correspondents covering the corridor who need context that holds up, and a named person who will go on the record.
Operators and investors
Shipping lines, port operators, insurers and lenders carrying real exposure to the route.
Donors and programme funders
Institutions funding security, governance or development work who need independent regional assessment.
07The Institute
Who answers for the research
Oversight sits with a Board of Directors, delivery with an Executive Team, and a high-level Advisory Council widens the Institute’s reach. The three are deliberately kept apart, and the governance page sets out exactly who does what.
“The corridor is not closed. It is being repriced — and price is policy.”
08Working with the Institute
Commission it, or be told when it changes
Research in any pillar can be commissioned as a brief, a report or a closed-door briefing. The Monitor and the alerts go out to a named list.
- Commission researchScoped against one of the five pillars, with the format chosen to fit the decision it informs.
- Request a briefingClosed-door, under the Institute’s independence rules, for governments and partner institutions.
- Receive the MonitorAsk to be added to the distribution list. Automated subscription is not yet connected, so requests are handled directly.