SCOTT  M.  THOMAS

               

_________________________________________________________________________

PERSONAL DETAILS

Full Name             Scott Michael Thomas

 

Department           Lecturer in International Relations and the Politics of Developing Countries, Department

                                of Economics and International Development

 

Start Date             1994

 

Prior Posts

1993-1994               Assistant Professor, Department of International Studies, Rhodes College, Memphis,                                          Tennessee.                

1992-1993               Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Minnesota-Duluth. 

1992                        Assistant Professor of Political Science, Hanover College, Hanover, Indiana.

1990-1991               Assistant Professor of Political Science, The American College of Switzerland.  Leysin,                                       Switzerland.

1985                        Visiting Lecturer, Department of Political Studies, University of Cape Town, South Africa.

 

Qualifications

Ph.D.                      Department of International Relations, London School of Economics, 1990.

 

M.Sc.                      Department of International Relations, London School of Economics, 1984.

 

Post-graduate

Diploma                 Department of Economics, London School of Economics,1983.

 

M.T.S.                    Master of Theological Studies, New College for Advanced Christian Studies,

                                Berkeley, California, 1981, now part of the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA.,                                        dissertation was an economic and theological evaluation of Ron Sider's Rich Christians in an                                Age of Hunger (Inter-Varsity Press, 1977).

 

B.A.                        School of International Service, double major in International Studies and                                                               Economics, American University, Washington, D.C., 1979.

 

Membership of Professional Bodies

Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), nominated membership

International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), nominated membership

International Studies Association

American Political Science Association

Council on Faith and International Affairs (United States)

Council on Christian Approaches to Defense and Disarmament  (United Kingdom)

Society for the Study of Christian Ethics (United Kingdom)

 

Research Programme:

 

Research Philosophy (i) Nature of My Research

My Ph.D. on the ANC’s foreign relations included the role of the World Council of Churches and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches in the global anti-apartheid movement. As a result of this research I became interested in the moral force of transnational ideas in international relations (e.g. opposition to racism, apartheid, and colonialism), and in the growing role of religion in international relations. These interests have contributed to both a theoretical and a policy-focused research programme. My research on the global resurgence of religion challenges the existing constructions of culture, religion, and identity in the theory of international relations, and it also examines the on-going impact of culture and religion on key, policy-related, issue-areas in international relations - conflict, cooperation, diplomacy, peace-making, inter-religious dialogue, and economic development.

 

 

Research Philosophy (ii) Why Do I Do This Research

The Preface to my book, The Global Resurgence of Religion and the Transformation of International Relations, tells the story of my research agenda. I do what I do now because I was deeply influenced by Beyers Naude, the Afrikaner dissident, founder of the Christian Institute of Southern Africa, and anti-apartheid campaigner who came to the University of Cape Town while I was teaching there to speak for the first time in public in almost ten years (when he was un-banned by the government). After meeting him I recognized that my background in international relations, theology, and ethics provided me with an important combination of academic disciplines within which to examine the social, cultural, and religious changes taking place in international relations and international development. I would write, research, and publish what I do, and I would seek the highest excellence in this area even if the RAE did not exist. I see these activities as part of my personal calling or vocation as a scholar and a teacher engaged with three publics, all of which can be clearly seen in this curriculum vitae – the scholarly or academic community, society and public life, and the church, which at its best is committed to human dignity and the global common good.

 

Grants

I have not required a grant so far for the kind of theoretical research I have conducted, but this will probably change with some of my more policy-focused research in the future. I am currently part of a NORFACE bid, a EU funded partnership among research councils at various European universities, looking at cultural and religious pluralism in Europe, headed up by Birgit Meyer, at the Free University of Amsterdam.

 

Publications

 

Books – single authored

The Global Resurgence of Religion and the Transformation of International Relations: the Struggle for the Soul of the Twenty-first Century, Foreword by Desmond Tutu, series on 'Culture, Religion, and International Relations' edited by Yosef Lapid and Friedrich Kratochwil for PalgraveMacmillan Press (New York & London, 2005), 300 pages.

 

The Diplomacy of Liberation: the ANC's Foreign Relations Since 1960  (I.B. Tauris, London; St. Martin's Press, New York; Johannesburg, Witwatersrand University Press, 1996), 333 pages.

 

Chapters in Books – single authored

'Taking Religious and Cultural Pluralism Seriously', in Pavlos Hatzopoulos and Fabio Petito (eds.), Religion and International Relations (New York: Palgrave, 2003), pp. 21-54; book to be translated into Italian.

 

‘The Global Resurgence of Religion and the Changing Character of International Politics’, in Max L. Stackhouse and  Diane Obenchain (eds.), Christ and the Dominions of Civilization,  vol. 3,  in God and Globalization  series (Trinity Press International, 2001), pp. 110-138.

 

‘Religious Resurgence, Postmodernism and World Politics,’ in Mike Watson and
John Esposito (eds.), Religion and Global Order   (University of Wales Press, 2000), pp. 38-65.

 

"Religion and International Conflict", in Ken Dark (ed.), Religion and International Relations (London: Macmillan, 2000), pp. 1-23.

 

"The Global Resurgence of Religion, International Law and International Society", in Mark W. Janis and Carolyn Evans (eds.), Religion and International Law  (London and Amsterdam: C. Kluwer, 1999), pp. 32 1-338.

 

"Religion and International Society", in Jeff Haynes (ed.), Religion, Globalisation and Political Culture in the Third World  (London: Macmillan, 1999), pp. 28-44.

 

"Africa and the End of the Cold War: An Overview of Impacts", in Amadu Sesay and Sola Akinrinade (eds.), Africa in the Post-Cold War International System  (London: Routledge/ Cassell Academic, 1998), pp. 3-27.

 

"The ANC's Foreign Relations", in Greg Mills (ed.), From Pariah to Participant: South Africa's Evolving Foreign Relations, 1990-1994  (Johannesburg: South African Institute of International Affairs, 1994), pp. 169-192.

 

"Dying Separately or Living Together: Regional Security and Economic Cooperation in Southern Africa," O. Akinrinade and J.K. Barling (eds.) Economic Development in Africa (London: Pinters Publishers, 1987). pp. 99-128.

 

Articles in journals – single authored

'Building Communities of Character: U.S. Foreign Aid Policy and Faith-based Organizations,' SAIS Review  (School of Advanced International Studies, John Hopkins University), 24, 2 (2004), pp. 133-148.

 

"Faith and Foreign Aid: How the World Bank Got Religion," Brandywine Review of Faith & International Affairs, Council on Faith & International Affairs, 1, 2 (Fall 2003), pp. 21-29.

 

“Faith, History, and Martin Wight: the role of religion in the historical sociology of the English School of International Relations”, International Affairs.  77, 4 (October 2001), pp. 905-929.

 

"Taking Religious and Cultural Pluralism Seriously: the global resurgence of religion and the transformation of international society", Special Issue, 'Religion and International Relations', Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 29, 3 (2000), pp. 815-841.

 

"The Global Resurgence of Religion and the Study of World Politics", Millennium , 24, 2 (1995), pp. 289-299.

 

"Religionense globae genopstandelse og studiet af verdenspolitik", Religionens Globale Genopstandelse, Den Ny Verden, 1 (30 Argang) 1997, pp. 15-31. Danish translation of 1995 article in Millennium by the Centre for Development Research, Copenhagen, Denmark.

 

Published Conference Contributions – single authored

"The State and Public Institutions: the Intersection of the Domestic and the International", in Les enjeux du partenariat euro-mediterraneen  (Forum Euro-Mediterraneen  and des Instituts Economiques, 1997).

 

Conference Contributions (unpublished) – single authored

Organised Round Table discussion, “Bringing Religion Back In: Where Do We Go from Here,” at the International Studies Association, San Diego, CA, 22-25 March, 2006, with Peter Katzenstein, Ole Waever, Daniel Philpott, J. Ann Tickner, Jonathan Fox, Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, and myself.

 

“Isaiah’s Vision of Human Security,” Colloquium on "Swords into Plowshares," Florence, Italy, June 29-July 4, 2005, sponsored by John Hopkins University, and the Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.

 

"Alasdair MacIntyre's Concept of Morality and Practices as a Basis for a Dialogue Between Civilizations," Conference on Catholic-Shia Dialogue, Ampleforth Abbey/Centre for Christian-Muslim Dialogue, Heythrop College, University of London, dialogue with mullahs from the Khomeini Institute, Iran, 9-14 July, 2005.

 

"Whose Development, Which Rationality: Gaudium et Spes, Catholic Social Thought, and International Development Policy After MacIntyre," The Call to Justice: The Legacy of Gaudium es Spes 40 Years Later, Pontifical Council for Peace and Justice, Vatican City, Rome, 16-19 March, 2005.

 

"The International Politics of Inter-religious Dialogue," Christian Responses to Islam Since September 11, Centre for Christianity and Inter-religious Dialogue, Heythrop College, University of London, May 13, 2005.

 

"Rene Girard's Mimetic Theory and the Theory of International Relations," Conference on Discovering Girard, Heythrop College, University of London, 9-10 October, 2004.

 

"Was September 11 about Religion or Was it about Something Else? Explaining and Understanding Culture and Religion in International Relations," International Studies Association, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 17-20 March, 2004.

 

Discussant, "The Power of Religion? Religion, Diplomacy, and Peacebuilding in International Relations," International Studies Association, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 17-20 March, 2004.

 

Religious Knowledge and International Relations Theory: the contribution of the English School', panel on 'Religious Knowledge and International Relations', International Studies Association, Portland, Oregon, 25 February - 1 March 2003, with Yosef Lapid, Friedrich Kratochwil, Daniel Philpott, and Fred Dallmayr.

 

'Explaining and Understanding Culture and Religion in International Relations', American Political Science Association, Boston,  MA, 28 August-1 September, 2002.

 

'A Pilgrim's Progress? Progress and Passion in Martin Wight's International Thought', and Chair, panel on 'Progress and Tragedy in International Relations', International  Studies Association, annual conference, March 2002.

 

International Studies Association, Discussant, 'Secession, Partition and Population Transfers: Real Options for Solving Self- Determination Conflicts?, New Orleans, March, 2002.

 

Invited to American Academy of Religion (AAR), ‘Taking Religious and Cultural Pluralism Seriously, Millennium (2000), Religion and Globalisation panel, Denver, November, 2001, discussant will be William  Schweiker, Associate Professor of Theological Ethics, Divinity School, University of Chicago.

 

Invited to the American Academy of Religion, Denver, 2001, Discussant on Religion and Society in Contemporary East Asia Consultation, section of AAR,   focusing on God and Globalization  series (especially Vol. 3), edited by Max L. Stackhouse, Stephen Colwell Professor of Christian Ethics, Princeton Theological Seminary.

 

Fourth Pan-European Conference on International Relations, ‘Faith, History, and Martin Wight’, Co-Chair with Professor Charles Jones, Cambridge University, panel on ‘Faith, History, and the English School', University of Kent, September, 2001.

International Studies Association,  'Religion and International Relations', Chicago, February, 2001.

 

International Studies Association, Discussant, 'Globalisation and Religion', Chicago, February, 2001.

 

‘Rethinking Religion and Civil Society in Developing Countries' Conference on the Dialogue Between Civilisations, Centre of International Studies, Cambridge University and the Al-Khoei Foundation, 3 February, 2001.

 

'Taking Religious and Cultural Pluralism Seriously: the global resurgence of religion and the transformation of international society’, Millennium Conference on Religion and International Relations, London School of Economics, May 27, 2000.

 

'Rethinking Religion, Civil Society, and Democracy in Developing Countries', in Religion and Democracy: An Uneasy Relationship, Annual Conference of the Politics and Religion Specialist Group of the British Political Studies Association, University of Sheffield, 24 February, 1999.

 

'Religion, Democracy, and International Order', Annual Conference of the British Political Studies Association, 7-9 April 1998, Keele University.

 

'The State and the Changing International Environment', Symposium on the Corporate Stake in Government Policy, Inter-College, Nicosia, Cyprus,  May 16-16, 1997.

 

'Religion, Democracy, and International Order', Paper Presented at the Seminar and Workshop - Religion and Development, Centre for Development Research, Copenhagen, Denmark, 17-18 April, 1997.

 

'The State and Public Institutions: the Intersection of the Domestic and the International', Instituit de la Mediterranee, Marseilles, France and Economic Research Forum, Cairo, Egypt, 24-27 March, 1997

 

'Religion  as a Source of Instability in Democratic Societies', Royal College of Defense Studies, London, February, 1997.

 

'Seeing Through a Glass Darkly: Reinhold Niebuhr's Political Realism in a Postmodern World', Annual Conference of the British International Studies Association, University of Durham, 16-18 December, 1996.

 

'Post-Westphalia: Religious Resources for International Order', Conference on Religion and Global Order sponsored by the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., 1-3 November, 1995.

 

'Religious Conflict and International Politics', Panel on International Cleavages, Pan-European Conference on International Relations (ECPR), Paris, France, 13-16, September, 1995.

 

'Religion and International Society', Workshop on Political Culture and Religion in the Third World, European Consortium for Political Research, Bordeaux, France, 27 April-2 May, 1995.

 

'Influence Without Military Force: the 'Soft Power' of Transnational Actors in World Politics', Annual Conference of the British International Studies Association, Warwick University, December 1993.

 

'The ANC's Foreign Relations Since the Release of Nelson Mandela'. Annual Conference of the British International Studies Association, Newcastle upon Tyne, December 1990.

 

'The Organisation of African Unity and the ANC', Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, June 1989.

 

Other Works – single authored

‘Christianity & International Relations’ module, Institute for Values in Society, Cert. H.E. in Faith, Politics & Policy, Sarum College, Salisbury (2000), 150 pp.

 

Book Reviews – single authored

"September 11, 2001: Dostoevsky in Manhattan?, Barry Cooper, New Political Religions, or An Analysis of Modern Terrorism (University of Missouri Press, 2004), Review of Politics (Notre Dame), 67, 3 (2005): 567-570.

 

Ted Gerard Jelen and Clyde Wilcox (eds) (2002) Religion and Politics in Comparative Perspective: the one, the few, and the many. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Political Studies Review (British Political Studies Association) 2, 1 2004), pp. 146-147.

 

Philp Aston (ed.) The EU and Human Rights  (Oxford, 1999), European Journal of Social Policy, 11, 3 (2001).

 

Will Hutton and Anthony Giddens (eds.), On the Edge: Living with Global Capitalism (Jonathan Cape, 2000), Political Theology, 4 (2001), pp. 105-107.

 

Karen Amrstrong, The Battle for God: fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (London: Harper/Collins, 2000), and Mark Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God: the global rise of religious violence (Berkeley, CA: University of California, 2000),  International  Affairs,  77, 1 (2001), pp. 194-196.

 

Peter Berger (ed.), The Desecularisation of the World: resurgent religion  and world politics (Eerdmans, 1999) and R.Scott Appleby, The Ambivalence of the Sacred: religion, violence, and reconciliation (Rowan & Littlefield, 2000), Millennium , 29, 3 (2000), pp.893-898.

 

Robin W. Lovin, Reinhold Niebuhr and Christian Realism (Cambridge, 1995), Millennium,  25, 1 (Spring 1996), pp. 199-200.

 

*Other book reviews in The Reformed Journal, Crux , The Tablet, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, and Africa: bulletin of the International Africa Institute.

 

Materials About to be Published – single authored

“Isaiah’s Vision of Human Security.” in Raymond Westbrook and Raymond Cohn (eds.), Swords into Plowshares: The Prophet Isaiah and International Relations Theory (London & New York: PalgraveMacmillan, forthcoming 2006).

 

"Alasdair MacIntyre's Concept of Morality and Practices as a Basis for a Dialogue Between Civilizations,” in Anthony O’Mahoney, Wulstan Peterburs, and Mohammed Ali Shomali (eds.), Catholic-Shi’a Engagement: Faith and Reason in Theory and Practice (London: Melisende/Fox Communications, forthcoming 2006).

 

"Cultural Resistance to American Political Values: A Global Perspective," in Sergio Fabrini and Mark Gilbert (eds.), America Contested: The Limits and Future of U.S. Unilateralism (London: Routledge, forthcoming, 2006).

 

Book Review - Pippa Norris, Ronald Englehart, Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide (Cambridge, 2004), West European Politics (LSE), forthcoming.

 

Book Review - Jonathan Fox, Religion, Civilization, and Civil War  (Lexington Book, 2004), Nationalism and Ethnic Politics (University of Toronto), forthcoming.

 

 

 

EXTERNAL PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

 

Consultancy, and related types of activities

A lecture on my book, The Global Resurgence of Religion and the Transformation of International Relations to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 22 November 2005.

 

A series of lectures arranged by the Dutch Ministry of Internal Affairs on the global resurgence of religion, tolerance, and social integration, as part of leadership training programme for top civil servants throughout the Dutch government, 24-25 November 2005.

 

"Building Communities of Character: faith-based organizations and international development," seminar at INTRAC, the International NGO Training and Research Centre, Oxford, April 2004.

 

Contributed policy proposal document to the Department for International Development (DFID), 'DFID and the UN System Institutional Strategy Paper Consultations', 4 September 1998, Church House, Dean's Yard, Westminster, London, led to Working in Partnership with the United Nations (London: DFID, March, 1999).

 

DFID Africa Strategy Group, Government and Institutions Department, London, 3 April, 1998.

 

Discussant, Wiles Lectures given by Professor Adrian Hastings, 'Religion, Ethnicity, and Nationalism', 14-17 May, 1996. Sponsored by the Wiles Trust, Queen's University, Belfast, United Kingdom.

 

Key Note Lectures, Invited Lectures, and Other Public Speaking Events

Key Note lecture based on my book, The Global Resurgence of Religion and the Transformation of International Relations, by Societas Ethica, the European Society for Research on Ethics, and Society for the Study of Christian Ethics, to their conference on “Political Ethics and International Order,” Wadham College, Oxford, 23-27 August, 2006.

 

“Justice, Education, and the Social Doctrine of the Church in the Developing World,” General Assembly of the International Federation of Catholic Universities, Bangkok, Thailand, 29 July-1 August, 2006.

 

How Shall We Then Live: Politics, Religion, and Communities in an Age of Global Terrorism,” Key Note Lecture, Netherlands Chapter, Society for International Development, 21 November 2005, Free University of Amsterdam.

 

 “How Shall We Then Live: Politics, Religion, and Communities in an Age of Global Terrorism,” Public Key Note Lecture for my appointment to the William T. Spoelhof Chair, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 22 February, 2006.

 

Bath Abbey, "Public Debate on War with Iraq," with the Bishop of Bath and Wells, Don Foster, MP for Bath, Sir Donald Maitland, retired diplomat, and others, 20 November 2002.

 

'What Does it Mean to Cultural and Religious Pluralism Seriously in the New Europe?', Conference of European University Chaplains, Canterbury Cathedral International Study Centre, 17 May, 2002.

 

'The Church, Islam, and the West: how shall we then live?', 2001 Swindon Lecture series, sponsored by Bath University, Diocese of Bristol, and Swindon Churches Together, October, 2001.

 

‘Regeneration & Reconciliation: is there still a social role for the church’, Norwich Cathedral Institute, July, 2001; along with Hanan Ashrawi, Garrett FitzGerald, Frank Field, Rowan Williams, and Kenneth Leech.

 

'Towards a Theology of Globalisation', London Church Leaders Group for Social Action, 5 March, 2001.

 

'What Does it Mean to Take Religious and Cultural Pluralism Seriously in Democratic Societies?', Wyndham Place and Charlemagne Trust, London, 6 February, 2001

 

Chairperson, debate on the arms trade between Don Foster, MP for Bath, England, and the prospective parliamentary candidates for Bath, sponsored by Oxfam, Amnesty International, and the Co-Op, Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, June 30,  2000.

 

'Christianity & Global Issues', one-day seminar taught with the Rev. Johanthan Lloyd, Anglican chaplain and leader of the Ecumenical Team of Chaplains, University of Bath Community Course, 20 March, 1999.

 

Other Knowledge Transfer Activities

I have reviewed prospective articles on behalf of Millennium (LSE), The European Journal of International Relation (LSE), Global Ethics (University of Birmingham), Geopolitics, Strategic Dialogue (International Peace Research Institute, Oslo), West European Politics (LSE), the Review of Politics (University of Notre Dame), Nationalism and Ethnic Politics  (McGill University), and Perspectives on Politics (American Political Science Association. I was on Millennium's Editorial Advisory Board for Religion and International Relations. I have reviewed manuscripts a variety of presses, Ashcroft, Longman, Pearson Educational, etc.

 

Printed Media & Journalism

“Actores religiosos de la politica mundial en una epoca global,” Vanguardia Dossier (Barcelona, Spain) numero 14, Enero/Marzo 2005, pp. 94-100.

 

Book review of Bernard Lewis, 'What Went Wrong? The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East' (2002), Gilles Kepel, 'Jihad: the trail of political Islam' (2002), John L. Esposito, 'Unholy War: terror in the name of Islam' (2002), The Tablet: international Catholic Weekly since 1840 (London), 17 August, 2002.

 

'Can the West and Islam live together?', The Tablet (London), 6 October, 2001.

 

'Wealth won't make them liberals', The Church Times   (London, Church of England), 28 September, 2001.

 

‘The Global Resurgence of Religion’, Crucible (Board of Social Responsibility, Church of England), July-September, 2000, pp. 149-160.

 

‘War of words in a world of wars’, The Guardian, November 7, 1999.

 

‘Rules of Engagement: as modern wars turns postmodern’, Third Way, 22, 8 (October 1999), pp. 14-17.

 

"Probing Mandela's Politics," Christian Science Monitor, July 18, 1990.

 

“ANC works for non-racial democracy in South Africa,” Milwaukee Journal, April 30, 1990.

 

Radio

Interviewed and participated in discussions on a variety of programmes on the BBC World Service, BBC Radio Ulster, BBC Radio Manchester, “The Breakfast Club,” flagship morning radio discussion programme in Jamaica, hosted by Professor Trevor Munroe (Trade Unionist, and Government Senator) and Anthony Abrahams (Journalist and former Minister of Tourism), and a variety of local, West Country, radio programmes.

 

 

Scholarship – Prizes, Medals, Fellowships, etc.

2005-06                   William T. Spoelhof Chair, Department of Political Science, Calvin College,                                                             Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States, a one year position.

 

1990                        Ph.D. Department of International Relations, London School of Economics, received the                                     Lord Bryce Prize from the  Political  Studies Association for most accomplished work in                                           the field of International Relations in the United  Kingdom.

 

1984                        M.Sc., Department of International Relations, London School of Economics, Awarded with                                Distinction.

 

1979                        B.A., Cum Laude, School of International Service, the American                                                                               University.

 

1986-89                   Overseas Research Scholarship Committee of the Vice-Chancellors and                                                  Principals of the United Kingdom

 

1986-89                   Montague Burton Scholarship, London School of Economics.

 

Future Research Plans - Articles in Progress (short term)

“Why Anarchy is What States Make of It: mimetic rivalry and the structure of international society.” This article examines Alexander Wendt's social constructivist approach to international relations from the perspective of the mimetic theory of violence and the sacred developed by Rene Girard, the French literary theorist and anthropologist, which I examined in my book, The Global Resurgence of Religion and the Transformation of International Relations, and applies this to some key IR concepts - international war, great powers, great power rivalry, weapons proliferation, etc.

 

“Keeping the Faith or Backsliding? Culture and Religion in the Methodology of the English School of International Relations,” Panel on “Theorizing the English School,” ISA annual convention, Chicago, 28 February-3 March, 2007.

 

“Bridging the Gap between Social Scientific and Interpretative Approaches to the Global Resurgence of Religion: what can we learn from Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart, Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide?  ISA annual convention, Chicago, 28 February-3 March, 2007.

 

Future Research Plans (longer term)

'Can Building Communities of Character Transform International Politics?'': this project examines virtues and practices in the main world religions, case studies of a virtue-ethics approach to foreign aid policy, public or cultural diplomacy, and faith-based diplomacy in an age of global religious violence (building on the analysis virtue-ethics and civil society in my book, The Global Resurgence of Religion and the Transformation of International Relations).

 

'Theologies of Empire and the Schools of U.S. Foreign Policy': this project, building on my study of  'Protestantism and Hegemonic Stability' in The Global Resurgence of Religion, examines the role of religious texts and theologies and how they have been used by political actors in what Walter Russell Mead has called the main schools of U.S. foreign policy: Hamiltonians, Wilsonians, Jeffersonians, and Jacksonians, and relates this to the role of theology and the churches in supporting and then criticizing European empire and colonialism.

 

‘Culture, Religion, and International Cooperation’: this project examines some of the specific approaches to promoting interfaith relations as a part of international cooperation, including Iran’s dialogue between civilizations, religion and the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, interfaith relations and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and multi-faith lessons from the British Commonwealth.

 

‘Wars of Religion - Past & Present?,’ This article explores further the concept of the  ‘invention of religion’ by liberal modernity I examined in my book, The Global Resurgence of Religion, as a way of understanding the debate over conflicts involving culture, religion, politics, and economics in world politics today.

 

'A Pilgrim's Progress? Tragedy, Progress, and Passion in Martin Wight's International Thought.'  This article based on my ISA paper examines the concepts of tragedy and progress in some of Wight's unpublished writings, and places them in the context of the current debates over ways of explaining and understanding international relations.

 

'The Church, Islam, and the West: How Shall We Then Live?.' This article based on my public lecture in Swindon for Bath University adapts the analysis Martin Wight developed in his article, "The Church, Russia and the West', The Ecumenical Review, 1, 1 (1948) to the current situation in international relations.

 

 

 

UNIVERSITY TEACHING DUTIES UNDERTAKEN

 

Undergraduate Teaching Load

EC 10078                Developing Countries in World Politics, taught jointly, 10 hours a semester (now replaced by                            Introduction to the Politics of Development)

EC 30032                Final Year Research Project. Supervision of UG Economics and Politics and Economics and                               International Development research projects as required.

EC 30040                A History of International Relations Theory, 20 hours a semester

EC 30042                The Politics of Ethnicity, Religion, and Nationalism, 20 hours a semester.

 

EU30411 Politics with Economics UG Dissertation. I have a history going back to the mid-1990s of                    supervising between 3-6 UG politics dissertations in ESML every year even though this is not                             usually included in my DEID workload calculations.

 

Postgraduate Teaching Load

EC50100 International Development Diploma Dissertation, as required.

EC 50144                World Politics: Conflict, Security, and Development, taught jointly, 10 hours a semester

EC 40149                Africa Regional Specialism, taught jointly, 10 hours a semester, and when it is offered I will                                take the lead in the jointly-taught Middle East Regional Specialism.

EC50066 Postgraduate Dissertation Preparation (MID/MGIPA), supervision as required, participation                             in dissertation workshop.

EC50098                 International Development Extended Essay, supervision as required.

EC50099 International Development Masters Dissertation, supervision as required.

 

Teaching Philosophy

The American psychologist Karl Menninger has said,  What the teacher is, is more important than what he [or she] teaches.” In my life, therefore, I try to be a model to my students of what a life excited about learning and the world of ideas can be like. I am committed to the idea that the study of politics, economics, history, and philosophy, are an important part of a liberal arts education, and this is reflected in the philosophical and historical focus of many of my course units. Many of these courses emphasise the values and assumptions which underlay the theories and approaches to international politics and international development, and students are encouraged to critically reflect on their own values and assumptions by the way I frame essay questions and determine the topics of seminars, which focus on topics related to war, peace, and the nature of international cooperation. I believe that to be involved in teaching and education is an act of faith that you believe society exists.  While this approach to teaching and education may not be easy to assess immediately, lead to employment immediately, nor lead to some kind of policy-related position, once students are employed, I hope that their educational experiences with me will help them to make more informed and thoughtful decisions to promote the common good in their local community, country, and the world. I use a variety of media in my teaching – articles, books, lectures, videos, websites, and podcasts, often from programmes I have taped myself from radio or television.

 

Evaluation of Teaching

My recent Course Evaluation for Semester 1 (October-January 2003/04) for EC30040 and EC30042 indicate an overall average of 4.0, with individual scores ranging from 3.8-4.5. I have a reputation after more than ten years at Bath for being an enthusiastic lecturer, interested in students, and one who teaches hard but interesting courses.

 

Supervision of Postgraduate Research Students

Over the last three years I have jointly supervised 4 PhD students, two of which have been and still are in ESML. I regularly turn down students who would like to study with me because of my research interests due to a lack of funding from the university and elsewhere.

 

 

 

External Examining at Degree and Professional Level

I have been an External Examiner for the MSc. in International Development at the University of Bristol, U.K., and International Policy Studies at La Trobe University, Australia, and I and been an external examiner for PhDs at the LSE, Bath, and Wales (Swansea).

 

Academic Management and Administrative Duties and Responsibilities

1998-1999               Undergraduate Admissions Tutor for UCAS

1999-2000               department coordinator for Erasmus-Socrates students

1999-2001               IFIPA Teaching Committee

1999-2001               Director of Studies for M.Sc. in International Development

1995-2005               Undergraduate Tutor for DEID International Students or Overseas                                                                           Admissions tutor (School of Social Sciences)

1995-2001               Admissions Tutor for M.Sc. in International Development (MID)

2003-2005               Admissions Tutor for M.Sc. in Globalization and International Policy                                                                       Analysis (MGIPA)

2003-2005               DEID Teaching Committee, advising, talks at career conferences, nights                                                                 out in a local pub with my final students (which I’ve been doing for years), etc.

 

 

August 30, 2006