ISSUE 183 : Nov/Dec - 2010 - Australian Defence Force Journal

Religion, Conflict and Military InterventionR. Durward and L. Marsden (eds.)Farnham, UK: Ashgate, 2009ISBN: 978-0-7546-7871-7Reviewed by Lieutenant Commander Richard Adams, RANThis book makes a valuable contribution to better understanding the ideas of moral purposeand religious identity as they encroach on the previously secular disciplines of internationalrelations and politics. The editors and contributors seem well respected, with RosemaryDurward a senior lecturer in the Defence and International Affairs Department at the RoyalMilitary Academy, Sandhurst.The work explains secularism as a central construct within Western political culture. TheWestern religious experience is held to be a phenomenon controverted by the secular‘enlightenment’, from which evolved the ideas of intellectual and political freedom, and theconcept of human rights. The significance of this analysis is evident in its distinction fromIslam, which is seen typically to draw no distinction between politics and religion.The logical corollary of this reasoning is that, in historical terms, the West is at a further stagein its intellectual, scientific and social progression. Durward and Marsden suggest, however,that this line of argument is imperfect and present a robust counter-argument suggesting thatideas of freedom and dignity within Islam need to be understood and protected.The study is contextualised by the religious dimension of violence in Iraq and Afghanistan.Within this framework, the book presents ten scholarly essays which focus on four main areas:religion and conflict, religious influence on military intervention, the need to disentanglereligion from politics and the relationship of religion to conflict resolution.The religious influence on military intervention forms the second limb of the study. Althoughpresently overshadowed by the challenges of persistent conflict, this analysis is extremelysignificant. Indeed, the problems and questions which are addressed by this book are muchlarger than the canvas of present conflicts.The work challenges us to consider the religious concepts which have been a formidable andpersistent background to world affairs, particularly since September 11—and so evident inthe ‘scriptural’ themes employed by President Bush and since reiterated by President Obama.Thus, the thorough and disciplined analysis presented in this book should be regarded as animportant contribution to the professional literature.105