Faith–Based Diplomacy

The rise of religion and religious actors combined with nonstate actors increasing influence in the international order has become the new normal. These fundamental changes in the security environment call for a new paradigm to address national security concerns. That paradigm must acknowledge the cultural and historical factors at the heart of many identity-based conflicts and advance the role of nation-states in resolving them. That emerging paradigm is faith-based diplomacy, and this bookwritten by one of the worlds leading expertsdescribes the principles and methodology of this form of engagement in the strategic political realm. It is informed by twenty-five years of experience in some of the worlds roughest neighborhoods, including East Central Europe and the Balkans, Sudan, Kashmir, and the Middle East. Canon Brian Cox is an ordained Episcopal priest; a pastor in Santa Barbara, California; a diplomat with a Washington, DC, nongovernmental organization; and a professor in a law schoolbased conflict-resolution program in Southern California.