Suchergebnisse

Mainuddin, Rolin G.: Religion and politics in the developing world: explosive interactions. - Aldershot: Ashgate, 2002. - 159 S. + Enthält Rezensionen von: Petito, F. ; Hatzopoulos, P.: Religion in international relations. The return from exil. - New York: Palgrave, 2003. - 286 S. + Compton, R. W. Jr.: Transforming East Asia domestic and international politics. The impact of economy and globalization. - Aldershot: Ashgate, 2002. - 204 S

Until the end of the Cold War, it is not an exaggeration to say that only a few theorists of International Relations (IR) or policy-makers engaged in either substantial investigation or articulation of the links between cultural variables like religion and ethnicity on one hand and international affairs on the other. In our article, we argue that this pattern does not do justice to the nature of mainstream IR theories. Although studies are accumulating, how (or whether) religion as a variable can be integrated into mainstream IR thinking still remains in question. We look at three main traditions in IR theory — classical realism, structural realism and neoliberalism — to see how religion can contribute to our understanding of international affairs within those frameworks. We claim that, without stretching the limits of theories or disturbing their intellectual coherence, possibilities for two-way interactions between the frameworks and identity-related variables like religion can be identified.

The study of religion and international religions has witnessed an exponential growth in recent decades. Courses and programs exploring the complex entanglements between faith and global politics have likewise mushroomed around the world. Despite this ferment, reflections on teaching religion and international relations have so far lagged behind. This forum seeks to remedy this general silence. It brings together a diverse range of scholars from a multiplicity of national, religious, methodological, and theoretical backgrounds who teach across a variety of different geographical settings including North America, Europe, and East Asia. Contributors reflect on three broad themes. First, how do we engage with the contested character of religion as a category of analysis and practice, and with the multidisciplinary nature of its study? Second, how does the context within which we operate—be it geographical, cultural, institutional, or historical—influence and shape who, what, and how we teach? Third, how do we address the important and, at times, contentious personal and ethical challenges that our research and teaching on religion and politics inevitably raises in the classroom?

AbstractResearch into religion and international relations (RIR) has come incredibly far in the decades since 9/11. However, a tension remains in this research program, as neopositivist scholars simultaneously argue religion both has an independent effect on and interacts with international politics. This has raised critiques of religion's importance. Relational work in international relations—inspired by scholars such as Bourdieu, LaTour, and Tilly—provides a means to overcome this obstacle. While some works on RIR have drawn on this tradition, it has yet to be systematized. In this review article, I discuss three recent books that highlight both the limits of the current approach to RIR and the potential to move it forward by drawing on relational analyses. I also provide guidelines for adjusting future work in this research program.

By the end of the 20th century, after great political upheavals, two world wars, the religion ; international relations ; Middle East ; Islam ; foreign policy regional politics ; nonstateactors ; global orderdecolonization process and political, social and scientific revolutions, it is hard to miss that the world is in a deep de-secularization process. In the Middle East, this process has taken multiple trajectories and has made geopolitics of religion central in reshaping regional issues and in restructuring modes of international politics and international system&rsquo ; s intervention in the Middle East.

The article surveys the recent scholarly study of religion and international relations/International Relations (ir/IR). The focus of the article is on two discrete periods: pre-9 September 2001 ('9/11') and post-9/11. During the first time period, Iran's Islamic revolution (1979), the civil war in former Yugoslavia and Huntington's 'clash of civilisations' (1993) were major foci of attention. The second period saw a large number of scholarly accounts following the 9/11 attacks on the USA, with a sustained focus on the international securitisation of Islam. The article also briefly surveys the position of religion in IR theory. The article concludes that following the recent diminution of the threat to the West of Islamist terrorism—subsequent to the apparent demise of Islamic State and the fragmentation and dissipation of al Qaeda—the study of religion in IR theory needs to take better account of changing circumstances to arrive at a better understanding of how religion impacts on international relations/International Relations.

1. Introduction -- 2. Religion, secularization and politics : a postmodern conspectus -- 3. Religious fundamentalism and politics -- 4. Religion and politics : what is the impact of September 11? -- 5. Religion and democratization in Africa -- 6. Religion, ethnicity and civil war in Africa : the cases of Uganda and Sudan -- 7. The political and social context of intercivilizational conflict and the possibilities of peace building -- 8. Conflict, conflict resolution and peace building : the role of religion in Mozambique, Nigeria and Cambodia -- 9. Religion and international relations : what are the issues? -- 10. Religion and foreign policy making in the USA, India and Iran : towards a research agenda -- 11. Politics, identity and religious nationalism in Turkey : from Ataturk to the AKP -- 12. Transnational religious actors and international politics -- 13. Transnational religious actors and international order -- 14. Religion and a human rights culture in America -- 15. Al-Qaeda : ideology and action -- 16. Islamic militancy in East-Africa -- 17. Conclusion.