What does it mean to be a Christian citizen of the United States today? This book challenges the argument that the United States is a Christian nation, and that the American founding and the American Constitution can be linked to a Christian understanding of the state and society. Vincent Rougeau argues that the United States has become an economic empire of consumer citizens, led by elites who seek to secure American political and economic dominance around the world. Freedom and democracy for the oppressed are the public themes put forward to justify this dominance, but the driving force behind American hegemony is the need to sustain economic growth and maintain social peace in the United States.
This state of affairs raises important questions for Christians. In recent times, religious voices in American politics have taken on a moralistic stridency. Individual issues like abortion and same-sex marriage have been used to "guilt" many Christians into voting Republican or to discourage them from voting at all. Using Catholic social teaching as a point of departure, Rougeau argues that conservative American politics is driven by views of the individual and the state that are inconsistent with mainstream Catholic social thought. Without thinking more broadly about their religious traditions and how those traditions should inform their engagement with the modern world, it is unwise for Christians to think that pressing single issues is an appropriate way to actualize their faith commitments in the public realm.
Rougeau offers concerned Christians new tools for a critical assessment of legal, political and social questions. He proceeds from the fundamental Christian premise ofthe God-given dignity of the human person, a dignity that can only be realized fully in community with others. This means that the Christian cannot simply focus on individual empowerment as 'freedom' but must also seek to nurture community participation and solidarity for all citizens. Rougeau demonstrates what happens when these ideas are applied to a variety of specific contemporary issues involving the family, economics, and race. He concludes by offering a new model of public engagement for Christians in the American Empire.

Expansive and engaging, this book investigates the fluidity of sites of power and authority in global politics. Examining the key shifts and turns of politics in globally oriented spaces since the end of the Cold War, contributions from leading scholars explore the continually shifting parameters of global governance. The book assesses how, in this ever-evolving global space, norms and rules are constantly being challenged and new technologies are altering the scope and uses of political power. Chapters explore these reconfigurations of authority, power, and territoriality, critically analysing the implications of the rise of multiple states as powerful actors in the international system, dissecting the dominant discourse on the securitization of migration and displacement, and assessing the growing divide between legality and legitimacy in world politics. In demonstrating how expectations of legitimacy in governance structures and processes have become more pronounced, the book ultimately exposes the limitations in the transformative potential of the liberal international order. Offering interdisciplinary perspectives on critical world order challenges, this wide-ranging book is an essential resource for scholars of international relations, international law, political theory, critical security studies, and migration studies. It will also be of particular interest to practitioners working in intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations.

This insightful and timely book considers the role of great-power competition in what has come to be known as gray zone conflict. Based on cutting-edge empirical research, it addresses the question: how can interactions between adversaries in international crises be managed in ways which avoid dangerous escalation? Drawing together diverse perspectives, an interdisciplinary team of academics and policy analysts take a data-driven approach to analyzing international crises over the past 100 years. Taking the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine as a backdrop for critical evaluation, chapters examine US and NATO approaches to the management of escalation in asymmetric conflicts. Ultimately, the book identifies areas where classical deterrence theory is incompatible with the realities of the contemporary conflict environment, and proposes innovative tools for managing crises in the future. Providing historical overviews of escalation management in international crises, this comprehensive book is essential reading for students and scholars of international politics, international relations, terrorism and security, and foreign policy, particularly those studying Chinese, Russian and US strategic decision making. It will also be beneficial to policy analysts, military leaders, and journalists focusing on contemporary international issues.