Note: similarities with Fujii (2008) about the ties that bound perpetrators in Rwandan genocide, which ties back to idea of embeddedness” from Granovetter (1985) “social Religion and violence Huntington (1993), Hassner (2003) Thomas (2000) Religion as a form of ideology Emphasizes how differences in religious ideas, difference in religion, hold the potential for conflict and for making existing conflicts more intractable; religion involves core values, defining what is good and bad, which are held as absolute truth and very often also as universal truth (identification with religion perceive the values of one’s own religion as superior to other belief systems competition hostility/conflict) Religious conflicts are more intractable because they exclude almost – by the way the conflict is defined the possibility of compromise, – coexistence, or the finding of common ground to resolve disputes (indivisible) Religion as a form of identity Religion as one of the basic sources of differentiation between groups; basic essentialism/determinism about the nature of religion because religious differences are fundamental and immutable, and they are more important sources of difference than ethnicity, class, or gender ( religion provides basis for incompatible identities source of international conflict) Religion as a type of idea” (variant of ideology) “transnational People in many different countries hold to a similar belief system, conception of morality, or believe in particular international laws or norms This sense of religious identification rallying” can – “civilizational – provide the basis for conflict between states (example: Pakistan’s support for Muslims in India’s state of Kashmir) Religion as a form of power” (Nye (1990)) “soft is the power of attractive ideas (in contrast to power,” “Soft “hard meaning military or economic power) informs the popular beliefs, – perceptions, and attitudes of particular constituencies Often embodied in particular states and non-state actors (example: Islam as a transnational religion is embodied in states that proclaim themselves to be states” like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran; “Islamic organizations like the Organization of the Islamic Conference and World Muslim League) Religious movements as transnational actors Transnational religion can provide the basis for non-state actors as transnational actors or NGOs Can influence IR through the use of force (rebel groups, terrorists) or the power of ideas (the Vatican; religious non-state actors for relief/development purposes missionaries) – Religion as a or area” “civilization” “culture
Note: similarities with Fujii (2008) about the ties that bound perpetrators in Rwandan genocide, which ties back to idea of “social embeddedness” from Granovetter (1985) Religion and violence Huntington (1993), Hassner (2003) Thomas (2000) Religion as a form of ideology Emphasizes how differences in religious ideas, difference in religion, hold the potential for conflict and for making existing conflicts more intractable; religion involves core values, defining what is good and bad, which are held as absolute truth and very often also as universal truth (identification with religion perceive the values of one’s own religion as superior to other belief systems competition hostility/conflict) Religious conflicts are more intractable because they exclude – almost by the way the conflict is defined – the possibility of compromise, coexistence, or the finding of common ground to resolve disputes (indivisible) Religion as a form of identity Religion as one of the basic sources of differentiation between groups; basic essentialism/determinism about the nature of religion because religious differences are fundamental and immutable, and they are more important sources of difference than ethnicity, class, or gender ( religion provides basis for incompatible identities source of international conflict) Religion as a type of “transnational idea” (variant of ideology) People in many different countries hold to a similar belief system, conception of morality, or believe in particular international laws or norms This sense of religious identification – “civilizational rallying” – can provide the basis for conflict between states (example: Pakistan’s support for Muslims in India’s state of Kashmir) Religion as a form of “soft power” (Nye (1990)) “Soft is the power of attractive ideas (in contrast to “hard power,” meaning military or economic power) – informs the popular beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes of particular constituencies Often embodied in particular states and non-state actors (example: Islam as a transnational religion is embodied in states that proclaim themselves to be “Islamic states” like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran; organizations like the Organization of the Islamic Conference and World Muslim League) Religious movements as transnational actors Transnational religion can provide the basis for non-state actors as transnational actors or NGOs Can influence IR through the use of force (rebel groups, terrorists) or the power of ideas (the Vatican; religious non-state actors for relief/development purposes – missionaries) Religion as a “civilization” or “culture area”