Page 1 of 13 Tigray, the 12 th TPLF Congress and Beyond: Transcending the existing discourses Meressa Tsehaye 1 “Observe calmly, respond carefully, stand firmly, behave wisely, do not stand out, act decisively” Deng Xiaoping 16-Word Directives on National & International Affairs, 1989 1. Introduction: stating the international context In 2015 we are witnessing a number of complex dynamics at the International context: the resurrection of the cold war‟s politics and the Ukraine -Crimea crisis; Greek bailout crisis; , the Mediterranean sea refugee crisis and the responses of the European; ISIS/ISIL terrorism ; the Saudi led Sunni war against Shia affiliated Houthi rebels and the fall of Yemen; the deterioration of American–Israeli relations; America‟ s foreign policy rapprochement with its historical enemies (communist Cuba and Iran- nuclear deal); China is on continue to rise to world leadership by establishing Asian investment and infrastructure banks, legitimizing BRICS as an alternative to Bretton wood American institutions (IMF&WB) The complexities and fastness of international dynamics however did not divert our attention from the two nationally important issues: the federal and regional election and the upcoming congress of the ruling party EPRDF in general and the TPLF in particular . The federal and regional election was an important event as it signifies the continuity and peacefulness of election exercise in a country of long-established history civilization, paradoxically almost non existing culture, knowledge and practices of constitutionalism and electoral democracy. The 2015 election thus needs rigours studies of why the ruling party won all the seats not votes? Why and how the opposition parties lost all their previous seats and not votes? What were electorates‟ interests, voting behaviour and future scenarios? But, for the people in the field of social sciences and closely observing the political history of EPRDF, the congresses are much more critical to the analysis of leadership continuity/changes, strategies and policies continuity/changes and mapping out potential opportunities and challenges that could affect national and regional politics. This short note is therefore to discuss some relevant issues of the past that shaped and reshaped the politics of today, to reflect on issues which are surfacing in discourses of Ethiopia today and their domino effects to Tigray and its surroundings, and hence, its scope is limited the emerging discourses in Tigray in particular and some extent its political environs. 1 Assistant Professor, the Department of Political Science and Strategic Studies, Mekelle University. Email: meressa21@yahoo.com or meressa21t@gmail.com , +251 0939229762