This fascinating and timely book addresses key themes in the relationship between religion and international relations - issues which touch all our lives. Challenging widespread preconceptions, and offering new interpretations of the role of religion in contemporary international relations, this thought-provoking collection is wide-ranging and well-researched. Examining both current debates and previously neglected aspects of this subject, specialist studies investigate major themes rather than attempt to cover the whole range of possible topics. Geographically, the scope stretches from Europe through the Middle East and India to China and the Asia-Pacific region. Themes discussed include religious fundamentalism, the relationship between religion and violent conflict, the worldwide implications of large-scale religious change, the degree to which secularization has occurred in society and politics, the political consequences of the contemporary growth of Christianity and Islam and the role of religious institutions in world politics. Religion and International Relations is a scholarly and original work of interest to specialists, policy-makers, students and others from all walks of life.

Discussions of religion in international relations have often focused narrowly on religious fundamentalism and on the potentially negative consequences of religious differences. This book attempts to take a more balanced and much broader view of the subject, bringing together new research-based studies by specialists from international relations, history and theology. Case-studies and thematic analyses examine both seldom-discussed issues - such as the political consequences of large-scale religious change - and review old themes in new ways.