Reinhold Niebuhr: Public and Private

Abstract

Little has been written in recent Christian ethics regarding the moral basis of the voluntary military service of Christian individuals. This article identifies some sources of that lack of discussion. Furthermore, it explores the moral basis of voluntary military service, especially in the modern United States' military. This is critical because service in the US military is not, in many respects, simply equivalent to generic military service. This is due to the unique and historically unprecedented military superiority of the United States in the world—its ‘sole remaining superpower’ status. This status places unique political responsibility and obligations on the military forces of the United States in the twenty-first century global community. The article attempts to articulate a moral argument in support of the voluntary military service of thoughtful Christian individuals in the US military in this geopolitical environment.     

Reinhold Niebuhr: Impact and Implications

Abstract

Reinhold Niebuhr's realistic theology and ethics provided a stark contrast to the optimistic Protestant liberalism of a previous generation. His success in reshaping the political theology of his contemporaries has led some recent critics to dismiss him as simply an echo of a cultural consensus which he in fact did much to create. The quite different realities of our time suggest, however, that we cannot be Niebuhrian realists simply by repeating his insights. Realism at the beginning of the 21st century has to shift its attention from the center of established moral and religious traditions to the growing edges where new institutions are being formed and new understandings of the human good are coming into focus. Such thinking runs the risk of what Niebuhr would call "utopianism," but a Christian realist in the 21st century will be someone who takes all of those possibilities seriously, in contrast to 20th-century realists who attempted to deal with the pace and unpredictability of change by returning all political questions to the management of the nation-state system.     

Reinhold Niebuhr and Richard John Neuhaus on Religion and Democracy in the United States

Abstract

Richard John Neuhaus, like Reinhold Niebuhr before him, understood the vital civic role that religion plays in democratic society. As pastors and public intellectuals, both men were committed to public or civil forms of religion that, at their best, could inform, inspire, or chasten American political thought and action. There are crucial differences, nevertheless–between Niebhur’s and Neuhaus’s historical contexts, theological outlooks, political positions, and attitudes toward the American project–that help to explain their distinctive legacies and different receptions within the academy. However much Neuhaus admired Niebuhr, these differences suggest why Neuhaus was not the Reinhold Niebuhr of his day.     

1965年印巴战争与美国的反应和政策

1965年印巴战争不仅是印度和巴基斯坦在克什米尔问题上矛盾和冲突发展的结果,更为重要的是,这还是1962年中印边界冲突后大国关系在南亚地区变化的直接结果。1962年中印边界冲突之后,美国决策者把遏制中国作为其南亚地区政策的核心,同时以军事援助和经济援助作为实现其南亚政策目标的主要手段。但是,美国的政策中存在着援助印度对抗中国与同时发展同巴基斯坦的同盟关系之间不可调和的矛盾。美国对1965年印巴战争的反应和政策,就是以不介入及以停止援助作为迫使印巴接受停火的压力,而这在很大程度上是对巴基斯坦发展同中国关系的惩罚。美国的政策实际上丧失了对印巴两国施加影响的渠道,这不仅使得苏联在调停印巴关系中发挥了主导作用,而且也导致苏联在1965年印巴战争后大力援助印度并发展同巴基斯坦的关系以及巴基斯坦发展和密切同苏联及中国的关系,美国在南亚地区的影响迅速减退。美国对1965年印巴战争的反应和政策表明,以对外援助作为实现美国在第三世界的战略目标的主要手段,其作用和影响力是极其有限的。     

Howard's War on Terror: A Conceivable,Communicable and Coercive Foreign Policy Discourse

This article explores the relationship between language and political possibility. It is argued that John Howard's language from 11 September 2001 to mid 2003 helped to enable the ‘War on Terror’ in an Australian context in three principal ways. Firstly, through contingent and contestable constructions of Australia, the world and their relationship, Howard's language made interventionism conceivable. Secondly, emphasising shared values, mateship and mutual sacrifice in war, Howard embedded his foreign policy discourse in the cultural terrain of ‘mainstream Australia’, specifically framing a foreign policy discourse that was communicable to ‘battlers’ and disillusioned ‘Hansonites’. Thirdly, positioning alternatives as ‘un-Australian’, Howard's language was particularly coercive, silencing potential oppositional voices.     

Anthropology of law,fear, and the War on Terror

Since 9/11, the US government has arrested hundreds of people, mainly American Muslims and Middle Easterners. Such arrests grow out of control and accusations become the same as guilt. Mob mentality becomes a state of mind, a sociopolitical phenomenon that periodically erupts, fuelled by right‐wing Christian religious extremists and frequent malicious government prosecutions. A key characteristic of interest to anthropologists who study law is that the accused is presumed guilty without due process.     

The War on Terror from the Perspective of Indonesia and Saudi Arabia

This article examines the perspective of two major Islamic nations—Saudi Arabia and Indonesia—toward the United States' War on terror and how this war shaped and influenced the behavior of the two Islamic governments toward domestic challenges and their partnership with the United States, as they have declared their support of the United States. Indeed the war against terror has developed several security concerns for both Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. However, each state has followed different methods to fight Islamic radical movements as well as a different framework of partnership with the United States on its war against terrorism.     

The Discourse of Fear: Effects of the War on Terror on Canadian University Students

This multimethod study is based on written narratives, demographic questionnaires, and interviews. I examine data collected from 99 students of a Canadian university to explore how the War on Terror has affected them. The findings are divided into four categories. The first category of the respondents is mute about the war’s effects. The second shows a disjuncture between the respondents’ lives and the war. The third reflects the effects on the Canadian soldiers’ friends or relatives, and the final represents those who do not have personal connections to the war but feel deeply affected by it. The discourse of fear appears as the most prominent effect in the narratives of the respondents. The basic themes that emerged from the discourse of fear (racism, Islamophobia, and social control) are then developed and discussed as they pertain to the respondents. The findings have many implications for both researchers and educators.     

Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism: Situating al-Qaeda and the Global War on Terror within Geopolitical Trends and Structures

Two North American political geographers situate contemporary terrorism in the world within broad historical trends and geopolitical structures. They employ Rapoport's "four waves of terrorism" to illustrate the changing geography of terrorism (from an intrastate to an international phenomenon) and place it within the context of broad historical shifts in modes of warfare that envisages terrorism as a form of war stemming from imperialism and state-building. The authors broaden the structural setting of terrorism to include geoeconomics and the concept of relative deprivation, using empirical analysis to argue that contemporary terrorism is primarily a feature of the semi-periphery of the world-economy (middle-income countries). Specific characteristics of the Global War on Terror are interpreted by relating processes of imperialism and state-building to a situation in which the U.S. is facing geopolitical challenges and a possible decline in global-power status. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: I390, O100, Y900. 3 figures, 1 table, 52 references.     

Response to Langdon Gilkey's Inaugural Address at the Niebuhr Society, 22 November 2003 in Atlanta

Abstract

After applauding Professor Gilkey for focusing attention on Reinhold Niebuhr's book, Moral Man and Immoral Society, I framed my response by setting forth seven salient elements of Niebuhr's political theory. After affirming Gilkey's portrayal of the differences between our contemporary situation and that which Niebuhr addressed in the 1930s, I focused on a third characteristic of Niebuhr's thought that Gilkey neglected to mention, namely, the impact of his thought on African-American activists in their struggle for racial justice in the United States. That impact mainly pertained to his perceptive analysis of power conflicts among social groups and especially the societal power of racism. Niebuhr's sensitivity to that problem was heightened during his ministry in Detroit and thereafter. Thus, Martin Luther King, Jr, his protégé, Jesse Jackson and many others came to view Niebuhr as a major source of inspiration for their struggle. But, in spite of Niebuhr's appreciation of Gandhi and his support of King's non-violent resistance approach, they disagreed about the moral value of pacifism. Most importantly, I join with another African-American scholar in pointing out Niebuhr's uncritical paternalistic assumptions about African Americans and their struggle.     

斯大林逝世与美国的反应和政策

1953年3月5日斯大林逝世后,艾森豪威尔政府迅速做出反应,并经过反复讨论,制定出一项利用斯大林逝世的心理战略计划,力图充分利用斯大林逝世提供的机会和苏联权力转移的内在困难,实施心理战和隐蔽行动,以削弱苏联的力量和影响。随着形势的发展,这一计划不断发展,构成艾森豪威尔政府国家安全政策的重要内容。美国对斯大林逝世的反应和政策不仅体现了美国遏制政策的加强,也揭露了美国图谋分裂社会主义阵营的实质。它折射了冷战斗争的严酷性,美国对外政策决策的适时性与实用性;同时也表明心理战、宣传战是美国重要的冷战战略武器,它对苏东剧变、冷战结束起了一种累积的、潜移默化的作用。     

Dead Hookers and Las Vegas: A Response to the Critics of my Article and the War in Iraq

Abstract

America and its allies took a bold step in launching a pre-emptive strike hoping to create a safer and better world. They did not possess a complete knowledge of the facts. They did not present a simple calculus to justify the action. They decided it was better to act than twiddle their thumbs wondering when and how a menacing regime would fulfill its threats. Their critics might prove them wrong. The pretext for going to war was questionable. The attempt to change the political landscape seems doomed to failure. But foolish people are the ones who dare to dream and act. Their activity is less than perfect and their success never guaranteed, but sometimes the God of all mercy uses what cannot stand on its own merit and effort and blesses it through the omnipotence of his will.