Religion in International Relations : The Return from Exile

This comprehensive study shows how the global resurgence of religion confronts international relations theory with a theoretical challenge comparable to that raised by the end of the Cold War or the emergence of globalization.

Are the secular foundations of international relations sustainable at present? This comprehensive study shows how the global resurgence of religion confronts international relations theory with a theoretical challenge comparable to that raised by the end of the Cold War or the emergence of globalization. The volume tries to shake the secular foundational myths of the discipline and outline the need for an expansion into religiously inspired spheres of thought. It also challenges the most condemning accusation against religion: the view that the politicization of religion is always a threat to security and inimical to the resolution of conflict. Finally, the task of demystifying religion is taken further with an argument for a stronger and "progressive" political engagement of the worldwide religious traditions in the contemporary globalized era.ContributorsCarsten Bagge Laustsen, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, DenmarkFred Dallmayr, Packey Dee Professor of Government, University of Notre Dame, USAJohn L. Esposito, Director of the Centre for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, USARichard Falk, Albert G. Milbank Professor of International Law and Practice, Princeton University and currently Visiting Distinguished Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, USAAndreas Hasenclever, Research Fellow at the Peace Research Institute, Frankfurt, GermanyVendulka Kubálková, Professor in the School of International Studies, University of Miami, USACecilia Lynch, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science, University of California, Irvine, USATerry Nardin, Professor of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USAVolker Rittberger, Professor of Political Science and International Relations, University of Tubingen, GermanyScott M. Thomas, Lecturer in International Relations, University of Bath, UKJohn O. Voll, Professor of Islamic History at Georgetown University, USAOle Wæver, Professor in the Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, Denma