Specifically designed for third- and fourth-year students, Religion and Global Politics uses case studies from the US, India, and Latin America, as well as theoretical concepts to explore the relationship between religion and world order.

TABLE OF CONTENTS; PREFACE; ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; 1. INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL THEORETICAL OVERVIEW; A NEW BEGINNING?; RELIGION IN THE PRE-MODERN INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM; THE POST-WESTPHALIAN SYSTEM AND THE SECULARIZATION OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICS; MODERNIZATION AND SECULARIZATION; CRITIQUES OF SECULARIZATION; PERSPECTIVES ON THE POLITICS OF ETHNICITY AND RELIGION; TAKING CULTURE SERIOUSLY; REACTIONS TO GLOBALIZATION; 11 SEPTEMBER AND AFTER; UNDERSTANDING RELIGION: DEFINITIONS AND DIRECTIONS; RELIGION AND GLOBAL POLITICS: A SURVEY; PART I: RELIGION AND THE DOMESTIC BASES OF STATE AND FOREIGN POLICY; 2. THE VATICAN, ROMAN CATHOLICISM, AND LIBERATION; A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH; THE CHURCH AND THE VATICAN TODAY; LIBERATION THEOLOGY: ORIGINS; RESPONSES TO LIBERATION THEOLOGY; NEW CHALLENGES, CHANGE AND CONTINUITY; CONCLUSIONS; 3. CHRISTIANITY AND US FOREIGN POLICY; THE 'CITY UPON A HILL': COMPETING RELIGIOUS THEMES IN US FOREIGN POLICY; RELIGION IN AMERICAN PUBLIC LIFE: A HISTORIC PERSPECTIVE; THE TWENTIETH CENTURY AND 'SOCIAL CHRISTIANITY'; CHRISTIANITY AND THE US 'MISSION' IN WORLD AFFAIRS: THE COLD WAR; STREAMS OF CHRISTIAN ACTIVISM; THE RISE OF THE 'RELIGIOUS RIGHT'; 'ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS?'; SEEDS OF A MIDDLE WAY; OTHER RELIGIOUS VOICES IN US POLITICS; CONCLUSIONS; 4. JUDAISM, ZIONISM, AND ISRAELI FOREIGN POLICY; A BRIEF HISTORY OF ZIONISM; DIMENSIONS OF ZIONISM TO 1948; POLITICAL AND ETHNIC DIVISIONS OF RELIGIOUS ZIONISM IN THE STATE OF ISRAEL; THE SETTLER MOVEMENT AND THE RISE OF ISRAELI REVISIONISM; THE RISE OF SHAS; RELIGIOUS PARTIES AND COALITION POLITICS; THE WIDER COALITION: CHRISTIAN ZIONISM; CONCLUSIONS; 5. POLITICAL ISLAM AND THE STATE; INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM; THE FUSION OF ISLAM AND POLITICS: A CONTENTIOUS DEBATE; THE MEDIEVAL AND COLONIAL AGE; SALAFISM: THE MODERN REBIRTH OF ISLAMIC ACTIVISM; REVOLUTIONS AND REVIVALISM: ISLAMISM TO THE 1980S; THE CRUCIBLE OF RADICALIZATION: JIHADIS, BIN LADEN, AND MILITANT JIHAD; ISLAMISM TODAY: DEMOCRATS AND DEMAGOGUES; THE SUNNI-SHI'I DIVIDE; CONCLUSIONS; 6. RELIGION AND POLITICS IN INDIA; WHAT IS HINDUISM?; HINDUISM, ISLAM, AND INDIAN INDEPENDENCE; THE RISE OF HINDU NATIONALISM; THE CRISIS OF SECULARISM AND HINDU NATIONALISM IN THE 1980S; THE AYODHYA INCIDENT AND THE RISE OF BJP; HINDUTVA, FOREIGN POLICY, AND THE ISSUE OF KASHMIR; FLASHPOINTS AND PRESSURES: THE CONTINUING PROBLEM OF INTERRELIGIOUS RELATIONS; CONCLUSIONS; 7. BUDDHISM AND POLITICS; BUDDHISM'S RISE AND ECLIPSE IN INDIA; THE BASIC TENETS AND VEHICLES OF BUDDHISM; SRI LANKA: BUDDHISM BETRAYED?; BUDDHISM IN EAST AND SOUTHEAST ASIA: PROTEST AND PEACE; TIBETAN NATIONALISM: UNATTAINABLE NIRVANA?; CONCLUSIONS; PART II: RELIGION AND GLOBAL ORDER; 8. RELIGION, DEMOCRACY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS; RELIGION AND THE EXPANSION OF LIBERAL DEMOCRACY; HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE LIMITATION OF RELIGION; RELIGIONS, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND DEMOCRACY; RELIGION IN INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS; RELIGION AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN PRACTICE; RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND THE POLITICS OF HUMAN RIGHTS; CONCLUSIONS; 9. RELIGION AND WAR; 'RELIGIOUS' WARS OF THE PAST; RELIGION AND WAR IN THE MODERN WORLD; THE JUST WAR TRADITION; THE TRADITION OF WAR IN ISLAM; HIMSA AND AHIMSA TRADITIONS IN HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM; RELIGION AND TERRORISM; CONCLUSIONS; 10. RELIGION AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION; RELIGIOUS RESOURCES FOR CONFLICT RESOLUTION; RELIGIOUS ACTIVISM IN SUPPORT OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION; RELIGION AS INTERESTED OBSERVER; RELIGION AS PEACEMAKER; RELIGION AS PROTAGONIST; RELIGION AS PEACE; CONCLUSIONS; 11. TRANSNATIONAL RELIGION, GLOBALIZATION, AND DEVELOPMENT; RELIGION AND GLOBALIZATION; THE INFLUENCE OF TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZATION: GLOBAL RELIGIOUS NETWORKS; RELIGION, THE MEDIA, AND THE GLOBAL POLITICAL SPHERE; MIGRATION, RELIGION, AND INTEGRATION; RELIGION AND DEVELOPMENT; A DIVIDED WORLD? NOTIONS OF DIVISION BASED ON RELIGION AND CIVILIZATION; CONCLUSIONS; CONCLUSION - RELIGION IN A SECULAR AGE?; THE RISE AND DECLINE OF THE SECULAR STATE; A SECULAR AGE?; HOSTILITY OR HOSPITALITY?; GLOSSARY; INDEX

"Excellent through and through. This is a volume . . . long overdue in the interdisciplinary field of religion and politics. The book can be successfully used with students in political science and religious studies." --Lucien Turcescu, Concordia University "A book like this is a fine balancing act. . . . This [one] does it very well." --Peter Beyer, University of Ottawa

"Excellent through and through. This is a volume . . . long overdue in the interdisciplinary field of religion and politics. The book can be successfully used with students in political science and religious studies." --Lucien Turcescu, Concordia University "A book like this is a fine balancing act. . . . This [one] does it very well." --Peter Beyer, University of Ottawa

Unique and balanced focus. The only text of its kind to offer a balanced treatment of both politics and religion with a particular emphasis on the way that religion affects politics. Interdisciplinary approach. Draws from a range of disciplines - from political science and religious studies to sociology and international relations - to invite students to consider the intersections between religion and politics in new ways. Global perspective. Combines insights from both the developed and developing world exposing students to diverse traditions and contexts that will be relatable to the multicultural Canadian classroom. Thought-provoking discussions. In-depth explorations of religion's role in the world today encourage students to think critically about controversial issues. Engaging context. Case studies from several nations and regions throughout the world, including the United States, Europe, India, South and East Asia, and Latin America, bring issues to life, allowing students to contextualize theory with examples from real situations. Helpful pedagogical resources. Review questions, boxed content, extensive bibliographies, and recommended websites, along with photos of significant people and places, bolded key terms, and an end-of-text glossary, help students engage with a challenging subject. Map of the world. Students can refer to the inside front cover for a map of the world by religion.

Paul S. Rowe is Associate Professor in Political Studies and Coordinator of International Studies at Trinity Western University, in Langley, BC, Canada. Dr. Rowe grew up in Canada and completed undergraduate and master's work at the University of Toronto and Dalhousie University. He completed his PhD in Political Science at McGill University in 2003. His research interests lie in the politics of religion in the developing world and at the global level, with a special interest in the Middle East and South Asia.

Unique and balanced focus. The only text of its kind to offer a balanced treatment of both politics and religion with a particular emphasis on the way that religion affects politics. Interdisciplinary approach. Draws from a range of disciplines - from political science and religious studies to sociology and international relations - to invite students to consider the intersections between religion and politics in new ways. Global perspective. Combines insights from both the developed and developing world exposing students to diverse traditions and contexts that will be relatable to the multicultural Canadian classroom. Thought-provoking discussions. In-depth explorations of religion's role in the world today encourage students to think critically about controversial issues. Engaging context. Case studies from several nations and regions throughout the world, including the United States, Europe, India, South and East Asia, and Latin America, bring issues to life, allowing students to contextualize theory with examples from real situations. Helpful pedagogical resources. Review questions, boxed content, extensive bibliographies, and recommended websites, along with photos of significant people and places, bolded key terms, and an end-of-text glossary, help students engage with a challenging subject. Map of the world. Students can refer to the inside front cover for a map of the world by religion.