The Return of Religion in Politics? Challenges to Statecraft (STG-MA-M7-RRP23)

STG-MA-M7-RRP23

Description

Beliefs, commanding power with authority, has always been a part of politics. Secularisation, as much a contingent process as an ideological programme, has been under way in the West and radiating to the world since the Westphalian Peace. In conceptualising "religion" as separable from politics and more nationally bounded despite its evident strong transnational ties, it has had major transformative effects on national cultures, legal and judicial systems, and electoral and political behaviours. It has not been without backlash, both national and transnational. A history of these evolutions and specific dynamics, illustrated by hard cases is important to understand contemporary challenges of statecraft.