Religion and Public Diplomacy

Mixing religion and public diplomacy can produce volatile results, but in a world in which the dissemination and influence of religious beliefs are enhanced by new communications technologies, religion is a factor in many foreign policy issues and must be addressed. Faith is such a powerful part of so many people's lives that it should be incorporated in public diplomacy efforts if they are to have meaningful resonance among the publics they are trying to reach. This book addresses key issues of faith in an increasingly connected and religious world and provides a better understanding of the role religion plays in public diplomacy.

"This volume is a significant addition to a meager corpus: scholarly works on the importance of religion to public diplomacy. As Professor Seib notes, religion is - somewhat incredibly - still too often seen as tangential to the work of diplomacy. This group of essays will help change that dynamic." - Thomas F. Farr, Director, The Religious Freedom Project, Georgetown University's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs

Autorentext
Brie Loskota, University of Southern California, USA Richard Flory, University of Southern California, USA Daniel Hall, University of Southern California, USA Lan T. Chu, Occidental College, USA Juyan Zhang, University of Texas at San Antonio, USA Najeeba Syeed-Miller, Claremont School of Theology, USA Mohammed El-Nawawy, Queens University of Charlotte, USA Johannes Matysaay, Switzerland's ambassador to the Republic of Argentina Seraina Flury, Official at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland Diane Winston, University of Southern California, USA Liora Danan, International Center for Religion and Diplomacy Thomas Farr, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, USA

Inhalt
Introduction; Philip Seib 1. Why Religion Matters in the World; Brie Loskota and Richard Flory 2. Pope John Paul II, Radio Free Europe, and Faith Diplomacy; Daniel Hall 3. Vatican Diplomacy in Vietnam and China; Lan Chu 4. China's Faith Diplomacy; Juyan Zhang 5. Public Diplomacy and Transnational Blasphemy Controversies; Najeeba Syeed-Miller 6. Muslims' Online Faith Diplomacy; Mohammed el-Nawawy 7. The Minaret Referendum and Switzerland's Proactive Public Diplomacy; Ambassador Johannes Matyassy and Seraina Flury 8. Capturing the World's Attention: Buddhist Media Diplomacy in Myanmar; Diane Winston 9. Shaping the Narrative of Religious Freedom; Liora Danan Conclusion; Philip Seib