Roundtable with Prof Joseph Camilleri on Dialogue of Civilizations and the Future of Global Governance

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:00 in Discussion Forums

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Where: Dialogue Society, London
With: Prof Joseph Camilleri, Director, Centre for Dialogue, La Trobe University (speaker)
Dr Fabio Petito, University of Sussex (discussant)
Dr Scott M. Thomas, University of Bath (discussant)
Professor Jeffrey Haynes, Director of the Centre for the Study of Religion, Conflict and Cooperation (discussant)

Abstract

Over the past several decades international society has experienced a rapid increase in the flows of people, money, technology, information and images across borders. It has also experienced an escalation of tension and violence between states, nations, religions and cultures. The call for dialogue of cultures, religions and civilizations has emerged in the post-89 context of the debate on the future of world order, and in particular against the background of the two competing and powerful discourses of the 'clash of civilizations' and the 'end of history'. For its advocates, this dialogue offers one of the more promising contributions to public debate about how we diagnose the present and plan for the future. Since 9/11 this dialogue has been the subject of a proliferation of public initiatives and international meetings, some government-led, others linked to IOs or NGOs, others primarily of religious inspiration. Recent examples include the UN initiative for an Alliance of Civilizations, co-sponsored by Spain and Turkey and launched in 2005. The idea of dialogue has gathered momentum and some have spoken as if the "dialogical moment" might soon arrive. However, if the dialogical approach is to be seen as a viable response to the complex tensions and conflicts that presently beset the human community, it will need to develop greater intellectual coherence and organisational potency.

This panel will consider the following crucial questions: What is meant by the dialogue of cultures, religions and civilisations in international relations? Who can, or should, participate in such dialogue- locally, nationally and internationally? Is there a dialogue strategy relevant to terrorism and the "war on terror"? How can a multipolar world better handle the challenges posed by the world's cultural and religious diversity? How does inter-cultural dialogue relate to such norms as peace, human rights, equity, democracy and sustainability?

Biographies

Joseph Camilleri is one of Australia's leading International Relations scholars. With over 30 years experience, Professor Camilleri has pursued a wide range of research interests covering almost the entire gamut of the International Relations discipline. These include regional and global governance, the political economy of Asia-Pacific, the role of religion and culture in international affairs, the politics of oil and the Middle East, and security policy (including weapons non-proliferation). He has published over 15 books, several of which have been translated into Arabic, Japanese and Mandarin; has produced over 20 chapters in books since 1993; and has had 20 refereed articles published in academic journals. In 2006 he established at La Trobe University The Centre for Dialogue.

Fabio Petito is Lecturer of International Relations at the University of Sussex and has taught in recent years at SOAS in London, the ESCP-EAP in Paris and at 'L'Orientale' University in Naples. He holds a Laurea in Economic and Social Disciplines (DES) from Bocconi University and received his PhD from the department of International Relations at the LSE, where he was also editor of Millennium: Journal of International Studies. Among his publications: Religion in International Relations: The Return from Exile (2003), and Civilizational Dialogue and World Order: The Other Politics of Cultures, Religions and Civilizations in International Relations (2009). He is a member of the International Coordinating Committee of the World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations"

Scott M. Thomas lectures in International Relations and the Politics of Developing Countries at the University of Bath, and is a research fellow in the Centre for Christianity and Interreligious Dialogue, Heythrop College, University of London. He has a PhD and M.Sc. from the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics, an MA in Theology from the New College for Advanced Christian Studies, California, and a B.Sc. from the School of International Service at the American University in Washington, DC. He taught at universities in the United States, Switzerland, and South Africa before coming to Bath in 1994. Dr. Thomas' most recent book is The Global Resurgence of Religion and the Transformation of International Relations (2005).

Jeffrey Haynes is Associate Dean of Faculty, Research and Postgraduate, and Director of the Centre for the Study of Religion, Conflict and Cooperation, London Metropolitan University. He is recognised as an international authority in five separate areas: religion and international relations; religion and politics; democracy and democratisation; development studies; and comparative politics and globalisation. He has written many books, journal articles and book chapters, totalling around 160 such publications since 1986. They include a 17,000-word discussion paper for the Geneva-based United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, ‘Religion, Fundamentalism and Identity: A Global Perspective’ (1995) and a 15,000-word study for the Commonwealth Secretariat, ‘Political Transformation in the Commonwealth’ (2009).