Christianity and International Law: An Introduction. Edited by Pamela Slotte and John D. Haskell

Abstract

This book offers an eclectic analysis of the past, present, and future of Christianity and international law. Recognizing the difficulty of choosing possible topics for an introduction to the relationship between these two subjects, the editors chose two broad categories. First, various chapters provide a historical overview of the nexus between Christianity and international law in contexts such as diplomacy, trade, charity, maritime law, colonialism, peacebuilding, and the development of international institutions. Second, the book includes themes that routinely resurface within contemporary international legal thought, including topics such as religious freedom, human rights, and refugees and asylum. The historical chapters are particularly rich with insight on the relationship between the Church and developments of international law. A few examples will suffice. Peter Petkoff presents a wonderful analysis of Byzantine ius gentium as “a rule of recognition that enabled the Byzantine Empire to maintain its status as the only legitimate God-made polity.” But ius gentium was also expansive enough to “integrate its neighbors through a variety of rules of recognition into its Christian commonwealth and make them in some sense Christian and Roman” (pp. 28–29).