module specification

 • Enables students to evaluate differing interpretations of the political importance of religious actors in international relations
• Educates students about doctrines and organizational methods of major religious currents insofar as these are relevant to international relations
• Informs students about Transnational Religious Actors and their role in international relations

1. 9/11 and all that LO1
2. Religion and globalism LO1
3. Religion and international relations theory LO1
4. Towards a clash of civilizations? LO1
5. Transnational religious actors 1: The Roman Catholic Church LO2
6. Transnational religious actors 2: The Islamic Caliphate – aspiration and reality LO2
7. Religion and state behaviour 1: Saudi Arabia and Iran since the Islamic revolution LO2
8. Religion and state behaviour 2: India and the Modi government LO2
9. Religion and international conflict 1: The Balkan Wars of the 1990s LO2
10. Religion and international conflict 2: Zionism and anti-Zionism LO2
11. Conclusions/Revision LO2

Lectures and seminars are augmented by copious material on the Weblearn site, inviting students to reflect on what they are learning and to engage with each other interactively.

The module booklet, prepared before the start of the semester and available on Weblearn, sets out a weekly programme of general discussions supported by reading and links to ensure continuous involvement and learning by students.

(1) Understand how religion is or is not dealt with by international relations theory;
(2) Understand and analyse the main roles of religion in contemporary international relations

One essay (4,500-5,000 words) on one of a list of topics prepared by the module leader.

Indicative bibliography

Core reading
J. Haynes, An Introduction to International Relations and Religion, 2nd ed. (Pearson, 2013)
Millennium,‘Special Issue: Religion and International Relations’, 29, 3, 2000
F. Petito and P. Hatzopoulos (eds.) Religion in International Relation: The Return from Exile (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003)

Other reading
P. Beyer, Religion and Globalization (Sage, 1994)
P. Broadhead and D. Keown (eds.) Can Faiths Make Peace: Holy Wars and the Resolution of Religious Conflicts (Tauris, 2007)
K. Dark (ed.), Religion and International Relations (Macmillan, 2000)
J. Fox and S. Sandler, Bringing Religion into International Relations (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004)
J. Esposito and M. Watson (eds.), Religion and Global Order (University of Wales Press, 2000)
J. Fox, An Introduction to Religion and Politics: Theory and Practice (Routledge, 2013)
J. Haynes, Religion in Global Politics (Longman, 1998)
J. Haynes, Religion, Politics and International Relations. Selected Essays (Routledge, 2011)
S. Hoeber Rudolph and J. Piscatori (eds.), Transnational Religion and Fading States (Westview, 1997)
S. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations (1996) (Also see his: ‘The clash of civilizations’, Foreign Affairs, 72, 3, pp. 22-49)
N. Sandal, J Fox, Religion in International Relations Theory: Interactions and Possibilities (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013)
A. Saikal, Islam and the West. Conflict or Cooperation? (Palgrave, 2003)
J. Snyder (ed.), Religion and International Relations Theory (Columbia University Press, 2011)
S. Thomas, The Global Resurgence of Religion and the Transformation Of International Relations: The Struggle For The Soul Of The Twenty-First Century (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005)
J. Troy (ed.), Religion and the Realist Tradition. From Political Theology to International Relations theory and back (Routledge, 2014)

On-line resources

E-IR (Religion and culture) http://www.e-ir.info/2017/01/08/religion-and-culture/
Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/
ECPR Religion and Politics Standing Group https://ecpr.eu/StandingGroups/StandingGroupHome.aspx?ID=34