The politics of fear: Religion(s), conflict and diplomacy

As historical phenomena, religions (as well as ideologies) have played varied and often ambiguous roles in the context of international relations, violent conflicts, peace-making and diplomacy (Ferguson, 1977; Haynes, 1988), and especially so at the interface between civilisations informed by Christianity and those informed by Islam (Armstrong, 1988; Partner, 1997). This paper focuses on aspects of those roles as the context for these has changed over the past half a century within the context of a broader setting shaped by what has come to be known as the “politics of fear” (Furedi, 2006), originally shaped by the threat of nuclear Mutually Assured Destruction and now by the threat of global terror attacks.

As historical phenomena, religions (as
well as ideologies) have played varied
and often ambiguous roles in the
context of international relations, violent
conflicts, peace-making and diplomacy
(Ferguson, 1977; Haynes, 1988), and
especially so at the interface between
civilisations informed by Christianity
and those informed by Islam
(Armstrong, 1988; Partner, 1997). This
paper focuses on aspects of those roles
as the context for these has changed
over the past half a century within the
context of a broader setting shaped by
what has come to be known as the
“politics of fear” (Furedi, 2006),
originally shaped by the threat of
nuclear Mutually Assured Destruction
and now by the threat of global terror
attacks.