The first edition of the Graduate Conference was held on 12 and 13 August 2015 at the premises of the Institute. Of the 15 papers presented during the conference, eleven are included in this publication. The objective of the paper titled “ Insights into Methodological Processes and Analytical Cautions in Interpretive Approach to Inter-Group Conflict Research: Experience from Empirical Research Process in Eastern Ethiopia” by Jeylan Wolyie Hussein is twofold namely to discuss how the theoretical and methodological perspectives of interpretive approach to inter-group conflict research interacted and influenced one another and to discuss the centrality of framing in identity-based conflict research. The main purpose of this paper “Ethnic Identity And Associated Factors Among University Students In Ethiopia” by Ashebir Demeke is to examine the multifarious status of ethnic identity, intercultural sensitivity and ethnic conflict handling ability of university students in Ethiopia and how it contributes to reducing people’s ethnocentrism and interethnic conflicts. “Federalism and Peace in Ethiopia: Current Achievements and Challenges” by Temesgen Thomas Halabo explores whether the Ethiopian federal system is achieving the promised goal of accommodating ethnic diversity and building sustainable peace, and the challenges the system is facing. “Ethnic federalism and the effective political participation of minorities in Ethiopia” by Beza Dessalegn argues for a beyond majoritarian rule of power-sharing so as to ensure the effective political participation of ethnic minorities in this paper. “Religion and the Secular State Order: The Ethiopian Experience” by Mohammed Dejen examines the challenges of religious fundamentalism to the secular constitutional state order in Ethiopia. The overall objective of the paper “A Tortuous Path to ‘Democratic’ Transition in Ethiopia: A Political Economy Perspective” by Henok Getachew is to uncover the structural impediments that hinder successful ‘democratic’ transition in the post-1991 political dispensation. The aim of ”Liberal Peace Agenda in Post-1991 Ethiopia: Merits and Challenges” by Mesay Hagos Asfaw is twofold: (a) to identify and critically discuss the merits of liberal peace agenda in PostConflict Ethiopia and (b) assess the challenges of liberal peace projects in Ethiopia since 1991. “African Peace Support Operations (PSOs): Sites for Deepening the United Nations’ Cooperation with Regional Organizations” by Dawit Yohannes Wondemagegnehu contextualizes the growing role of African PSOs within ongoing discourses of peace and security as having their own distinct agency in shaping the broader UN-ROs relations. “The Future of Small Arms in Pastoral Lowlands of the Horn of Africa: A case of the Nyàngatom people in southwest Ethiopia” by Mercy Fekadu Mulugeta explores ways in which current government development schemes might alter the security relations of pastoralist communities of Eastern Africa. The paper “ Alliance Formations and Security Implications in the Horn of Africa: Ethiopia with its Neighbors” by Andualem Zewdie Belaineh is set out to scrutinize the dynamics of Ethiopia’s alliance with its neighbors. ‘The Dynamics Of Security Threats To The Horn States: Implications For “Prisoners Of Geography”’ by Yohannes Tekalign Beza attempts to show what the magnitude of the constraint in the security dynamics at play in the Horn of Africa is posing on the region’s landlocked states.
