Christianity and World Affairs: Building Blocks for an International Order Where Justice and Peace Embrace

Second Amsterdam Kuyper Seminar

23 & 24 January, 2014

Aurorazaal, Hoofdgebouw Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105, Amsterdam

Contact: prof. dr. Govert Buijs (VU-Amsterdam) g.j.buijs@vu.nl

Theme

Our world becomes smaller and more interconnected. At the same time, people start to behave much more on a national or regional basis. The interests at stake are huge: the world faces climate change, territorial conflicts over scarce resources, the spread of nuclear weapons, poverty and terrorism. States become more intertwined with one another, with overlaps on the transnational, regional and international levels. Next to this the “international community” is no longer the exclusive domain of states but embraces various non-state actors – especially civil society groups – that help shape and influence the direction of international law, international relations and international politics. Terms such as global society, world politics, transnational civil society are used to give an adequate description of these developments. All these changes mean a lot for the way in which NGOs, diplomats, and heads of state have to operate in the world.

Challenges for academic research and debate

How can these challenges be addressed? What concepts, images or ‘theories’ do we use to understand and explain international affairs? Are our assumptions about the world of the twenty-first century still adequate? What can we learn from the Christian tradition in this respect? This seminar Christianity and World Affairs brings together colleagues from all over the world that are interested in the relationship between Christianity and international affairs.

Papers

We would like to invite papers, esp. from young scholars and from people who are engaged in international affairs, on the following subthemes: European integration, development cooperation, human rights, global civil society, international law, foreign policy, defense, international politics, peace building, political economy, globalization, international relations theory and Christian democracy. As international relations often are an interdisciplinary affair, contributions from various disciplines are invited such as political science, history, development studies, international economics, anthropology, theology, philosophy, and others.

Paper proposals (approximately 500 words) should be sent to g.j.buijs@vu.nl by October 1, 2013. You will be notified of acceptance before October 15. The language of the conference will be English.