In his new book, Securing the Sacred, Robert M. Bosco examines how secular states attempt to understand and engage religious ideas and actors in the name of national security. Specifically, Bosco argues that religion became a “national security enigma” for Western, secular states after 9/11. The book compares and contrasts the framing of religion as a national security referent by France, the United Kingdom, and the United States following 9/11, and traces the successes and failures of the policies that flowed from these framings. From the publisher:
Despite significant theoretical distinctions between securitization on the domestic and the international levels, he finds that the outcome of addressing religion within the context of security hinges upon partnerships. Whereas states may harness the power of international allies, they cannot often find analogous domestic allies; therefore, states that attempt to securitize religion at home are more vulnerable to counterattack and more likely to abandon their efforts. This book makes a significant contribution to the fields of political theory, international relations, Islamic studies, and security/military studies.
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