Transnational religious actors and international relations

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the role which transnational religious actors play in international politics. Conventionally, international politics has been organized around the principle of state sovereignty since the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The chapter examines the activities of transnational actors working from within two different religious traditions: Roman Catholicism and Sikhism. It argues that, despite differences in size, scale and objectives, actors operating from within these two religious traditions have attempted to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by globalization to articulate a transnational identity. The chapter also argues that, despite differences in size, scale and objectives, actors operating from within these two religious traditions have attempted to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by globalization to articulate a transnational identity that, potentially, challenges the international order of territorialized nation-states dating back to the Peace of Westphalia.