Diplomacy and Interreligious Dialogue: A Generative Model

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Diplomacy and Interreligious DialogueA Generative Model Pasquale Ferrara (bio) introduction In the public perception, diplomacy is a traditional Westphalian profession, associated with anything from glamour to vanity to plotting, duplicity, secrecy, and obscure bureaucracy. As a result, diplomacy is usually understood through one of two prevailing paradigms: empty formality (parties and receptions) on the one hand, and on the other hand, instrumentalism and cynicism. Immanuel Kant was among the most authoritative critics of diplomacy. In his Project for A Perpetual Peace, he wrote that ambassadors are always ready to find ad hoc justifications for the futile wars of their sovereigns.1 In more recent times, the so-called “realist” conception of diplomacy, based on power, interests, strategy has become a dominant narrative. As a case in point, the present tragedy of the Russian aggression against Ukraine seems to confirm this interpretation of diplomacy as either ineffective or as a utilitarian public function. However, it is equally possible to argue, symmetrically, that war begins exactly when diplomacy fails or plays no incisive role in international disputes. In this article, my aim is not to offer a generic defense or “rehabilitation” of diplomacy, but rather to highlight one aspect of the connective power of diplomacy. In particular, my purpose is to argue that contemporary, reflexive diplomacy has the ability to engage with both religious and interreligious realities and entities in reciprocal discursive interactions. In doing so, I will move away from the ontological/empirical dispute about the nature and evolution of diplomacy, building instead on the phenomenological manifestation of new practices of diplomacy as they relate to religions as social, international, and transnational phenomena. As an introduction, I will elaborate on the tragic death in early 2021 of Luca Attanasio, the young Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, whose activism with religious organizations raises broader fundamental questions about ethics and diplomacy, as well as diplomacy [End Page 177] “extra muros.”2 Elaborating on this specific case, I will then discuss two types of interrelations between religious diversity and diplomacy: religions functional to diplomacy (cases of diplomacy using or relying upon religious initiatives and religious networks) and diplomacy functional to religions (cases of religions using or relying upon diplomatic initiatives and diplomatic networks). I will conclude by introducing the concept of “generative diplomacy” as an interpretation of the underlying social texture that binds together the different manifestations of the connection between interreligious engagement and diplomacy. faith, diplomacy, engagement: the tragic case of luca attanasio The public and media rarely think about diplomacy in terms of ethics, engagement, and outreach to religious organizations (beyond charitable events) until something unexpected compels them to look at diplomacy from a completely different angle. This was the case with the brutal assassination, on February 22, 2021, of Luca Attanasio, the young Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The diplomat was killed, along with two other people, during a field visit with a World Food Programme (WFP) delegation.3 The shock the Italian public experienced was profound and reflected by events in the aftermath of this tragic death. The Italian thinktank Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) dedicated its annual prize to Attanasio’s memory;4 the president posthumously awarded him the Order of the Star of Italy, while the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs named a conference room after him.5 Just a few days after his tragic death, a rather surprising profile of Attanasio emerged. He was not a “classic” ambassador, though his political and professional record was impeccable. In his spare time, he used to act as an institutional community organizer, engaging in impressive outreach to volunteers and non-governmental organizations active in the social field in Africa. To be sure, this kind of outward-facing activity is not new among diplomats, but Attanasio’s case was unique because the discussion included a religious dimension. The Community of Sant’Egidio, a well-known Catholic lay movement engaged in processes of mediation and reconciliation, recognized Attanasio. In an official statement, the Community expressed “its great sorrow for the killing of Ambassador Luca Attanasio . . . We remember him with affection, having met him several times in Rome and in [End Page 178] Kinshasa and...