Religions in Global Politics

Transcription

1 Religions in Global Politics 3UG Option Dr. Fabio Petito, Department of International Relations Room: Arts C350 Addressing the neglect of religion in International Relations watch here my 10 minutes interview on the resurgence of religions in global politics

2 Overview This module will explore the implications of the resurgence of religions for global politics and for thinking about international relations. Sociologists and philosophers have interpreted this return as the de-secularisation of the world or as part of the so-called end of modernity. Against the background of the growing multicultural nature of contemporary international society, the course will try: 1) to problematise the implicit and predominant reading of religion in IR as the ultimate threat to international order and stability (especially, in the forms of the identity politics of the new wars and the terrorist attacks of religious fundamentalists); 2) to engage with the contemporary scholarly debate over secularism and its role in international relations; 3) to critically understand how policy-makers are responding to this new awareness of the growing role of religion in global politics; 4) to discuss the implications of this religious resurgence for foreign policy, development, freedom of religion and peacebuilding. Beyond the more theoretical discussions, the course will provide the possibility of examining a number of case-studies of politicised religions drawn from all the great world-wide religious traditions.

3 Topics 1. The Resurgence of Religions in Global Politics 2. Religions, Cultures and Civilizations in International Relations 3. Religion, Violence and Security 4. Secularization, Secularism and Post-Secularism in International Relations 5. The International Religious Freedom Agenda 6. Religion and Development 7. Religion and Foreign Policy: The emerging religious engagement agenda 8. Religious Peacebuilding

4 How it is taught There will be a series of weekly three-hour workshops. The workshops are designed to provide students with a combination of lectures and opportunities to explore in depth specific issues and to engage in discussion in a small group context. Students will be expected to contribute to such discussions. Most importantly, students will also be expected to engage in continuous independent study. Each seminar will be divided into two parts with the last hour being devoted to a group presentation (3-4 students) followed by Q&A and discussion on a specific case study of politicized religion. An indicative list of the case studies available for presentations includes: Sunni Islam, Shia Islam, Catholicism, Pentecostalism, Orthodox Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Confucianism

5 Course Assessment A 3,500 word essay due in January. A 1,000 word piece due during the module. An assessed group presentation.

6 If you are interested a couple of relevant websites and a few relevant readings. The Immanent Frame, a collective blog publishing interdisciplinary perspectives on secularism, religion, and the public sphere The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs Appleby, R. Scott, The ambivalence of the sacred: religion, violence, and reconciliation (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1999) Berger, Peter L., ed. The Desecularization of the World, (Washington, D.C.: Ethics and Public Policy Center, 1999). Cavanaugh, William T. The Myth of Religious Violence: Secular Ideology and the Roots of Modern Conflict (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009) Falk, Richard, Religion and Humane Global Governance (New York: Palgrave, 2001) Habermas, Jürgen et al, An Awareness of What is Missing: Faith and Reason in a Post- Secular Age (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2010) Johnston, Douglas and Cynthia Sampson, eds., Religion: The Missing Dimension of Statecraft (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994). Petito Fabio and Pavlos Hatzopoulos Religion in International Relations: The Return from Exile, eds. (New York: Palgrave, 2003) Roy, Olivier. Holy Ignorance: When Religion and Culture Part Ways. Hurst/CUP, 2009, Taylor, Charles, A Secular Age (Harvard University Press, 2007) Thomas, Scott, The Global Resurgence of Religion and the Transformation of International Relations (New York: Palgrave, 2005).