Religion in international relations and interfaith dialogue

Download

index.pdf

Date

2010

Author

Sezenler, Olcay

Metadata

Show full item record

Item Usage Stats

247
views

107
downloads

Religion was regarded as a marginal factor by scholars of International Relations for a long time. The main reason for this ignorance is that the discipline of International Relations has followed the major paradigm - secularization thesis - in social sciences until recently. This resulted in ignorance of religion as an explanatory factor in International Relations. However, this situation has recently started to change. Beginning from 1990s, the role of religion in international relations has started to be reexamined; and secularization theory has started to be criticized. On the other hand, religion has started to be regarded as a tool for peacebuilding, at the same time. In addition to its contribution to conflicts and wars, religion is increasingly seen as a potential tool for peaceful cooperation; and inter-religious dialogue is becoming a part of diplomacy and conflict resolution policies. Within this context, interfaith dialogue is a case which shows the extent of the change in the discipline of IR regarding the role of religion. This thesis aims to make a comprehensive discussion on the historical and contemporary relation between religion and international relations by focusing on the role of interfaith dialogue, specifically dialogue initiatives within the EU and the UN. The dialogue projects of these institutions and their relation with security-driven policies are examined. Thus, the main concern of this study is to raise a question about the role of interfaith dialogue, especially the one proposed by the institutions above, in transforming the role of religion in international relations.

Subject Keywords

International relations., Religion.

URI

http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/3/12611683/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/19513

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis

Suggestions

OpenMETU
Core

Hybrid sovereignty in the Arab Middle East: the cases of Jordan, Iraq And Kuwait Bacık, Gökhan; Altunışık, Meliha; Department of International Relations (2005) This thesis analyses the issue of sovereignty in the Arab Middle Eastern context with a special reference to three cases: Jordan, Kuwait and Iraq. The basic argument of this thesis is the inapplicability of Western sovereignty in the related cases. The thesis will discuss that Western sovereignty which was brought to the region has been limited by certain facts. Instead, what we have is a hybrid sovereignty model in which both modern and primordial patterns co-exist. The thesis will also trace the history o...
International relations theory and the international relations of the middle east : a state of the field study Tekelioğlu, Ahmet Selim; Altunışık, Meliha; Department of International Relations (2009) This thesis analyzes the level of interaction between International Relations theories and the literature on the international relations of the Middle East. The disciplines- area studies controversy is analyzed in a way to account for the low level of cooperation between International Relations as an academic discipline and Middle East studies. The thesis looks into the literature in order to demonstrate to what extent developments in International Relations theories informed the study of the international ...
Ethnic interest groups and American Foreign Policy: sources of influence Erdoğan, Celil; Polat, Necati; Department of International Relations (2010) Ethnic interest groups have historically played a role in the making of American foreign policy but their influence has increased especially following the end of the Cold War. This influence has important repercussions on American foreign policy towards the home countries of the powerful ethnic groups and the regions that these countries are located in. Within this context, this thesis examines the sources or the reasons of the influence of ethnic interest groups on American foreign policy, which has also a...
Turkish foreign policy towards Israel: the implications of Turkey’s relations with the west Turan, Tolga; Tür Küçükkaya, Özlem; Department of International Relations (2008) This thesis aims to analyze the Turkish foreign policy towards the State of Israel in a historical perspective and to examine how the foreign policy perceptions of the AKP Government having Islamic roots that came to power in 2002 affected this policy. The thesis argues that, historically, the Western connection of the Turkish Republic has determined the Turkish foreign policy towards Israel and the foreign policy perceptions of the AKP Government strengthened this connection rather than weakening it. It is...
German foreign and security policy : sustaining civilian and multilateral orientation Gül, Murat; Yurdusev, Ahmet Nuri; Department of International Relations (2009) The “German Question” was on the agenda of the international community from the last quarter of the nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. Following the end of the World War II, due to the existence of a Soviet threat, the incorporation of West Germany into the liberal-democratic institutions of the western world was the principal issue to be dealt with. Following the reunification of Germany and the end of the bipolar international structure, the “German Question” was revisited. The German insist...

Citation Formats

O. Sezenler, “Religion in international relations and interfaith dialogue,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2010.