Faith-Based Diplomacy

For most of the twentieth century, the most critical concerns of national security have been balance of power politics and the global arms race. The religious conflicts of this era and the motives behind them, however, demand a radical break with this tradition. If the United States is to prevail in its long-term contest with extremist Islam, it will need to re-examine old assumptions, expand the scope of its thinking to include religion and other 'irrational' factors, and be willing to depart from past practice. This book looks at five intractable conflicts and explores the possibility of drawing on religion as a force for peace. The world-class authors writing in this volume suggest how the peacemaking tenets of five major world religions can be strategically applied in ongoing conflicts in which those religions are involved.