The articles presented in this issue represent an endeavor to provide a framework for engaging in constructive dialogue and policy development to guide the nation-building agenda in Ethiopia. Because the authors are from various academic disciplines, this is an interdisciplinary perspective of past and present nation-building in Ethiopia.

Editorial Statement
Nation Building: The issues to be considered by Guest Editor, Zenebe Beyene

Essays
1. Nation Building on the Foundations of Division: A Quest for an Effective Communication Strategy and a Policy Intervention by Zenebe Beyene

2. Democratizing an Ethnocratic State: On Ethiopia’s Civil Society by Derese Getachew Kassa

3. Ethnic Identity and National Citizenship in Ethiopia: Towards Bridging the Gap by Data D. Barata

4. Why Nation-Building Lagged State-Building in Ethiopia by Berhanu Abegaz

5. The Ideology of Shebanization and the Birth of the Ethiopian Nation (13th–16th century) by Deresse Ayenachew Woldetsadik

6. The Role and Meaning of a Leader in the Modern History of Ethiopia, 1885 to Present
by Solomon Addis Getahun

7. Confidence Building through Environmental Cooperation Opportunities for Ethiopia and her Neighbors by Reidulf K. Molvaer

8. From a Nation of Citizens to a “Nation of Nations”: National Citizenship without Depth
by Adeno Addis


Dossier
Origin of Tribalisation of Ethiopian Politics: From Fascism to Fascism by Aleme Eshete

Notes to Contributors

Africa’s Cultural Ambassador, African knowledge broker, and Continental Bridge Builder are just few of the names Elias Wondimu was called in his life in the United States. After careful examination of the American media landscape and book market, an exiled journalist from Ethiopia, Wondimu discovered that stories and subjects from Africa or its residents in the diaspora are tagged negatively, ignoring the positive, subtleties and nuances that define them. As a solution, he started a media company—TSEHAI Publishers, which gives socially responsible publications and fill the void that exists in the market place. Wondimu often says that he doesn’t have a five years plan but of fifty, that aims to empower the next generation; so that they become the change that we want to see in the world.