Dr. Andrea Paras

Sovereignty and Solidarity: Moral Obligations: Confessional England, and the Huguenots

Published by The International History Review

February 13, 2014

This article addresses the question of the emergence of sovereignty and moral obligation through a study of the Protestant English state and its relations with and policies towards the French Huguenots in the latter half of the sixteenth century. The authors take as their starting point the fact that the emergence of sovereignty in early-modern England was made possible by the consolidation of a confessional identity, and therefore cannot be divorced from the religious politics of the time. Their argument, based on such a historical reading of the gradual enforcement of territorial sovereignty and the simultaneous practices of solidarity with ‘outsiders’ beyond territorial boundaries, is that moral obligation played a role in the formation of English sovereignty, rather than being entirely exogenous to the process. This gives the authors reason to reconsider the relationship between moral obligation and sovereignty. The case demonstrates how the emergence of sovereignty led to the expansion of moral obligations rather than their narrowing. The main contribution of the article is to question commonplace assumptions about sovereignty and moral obligation, and to offer an avenue along which to re-think how one accounts for the emergence of sovereignty in the early-modern era and beyond.

URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07075332.2013.879912

CIDA's Secular Fiction and Canadian faith-based organisations

Published by Canadian Journal of Development Studies

July 26, 2012

Many have argued that the secularism that dominates both political science and development studies neglects how religion has historically contributed to development practices, as well as the potential of faith-based organisations (FBOs) to bring a more holistic approach to development. Despite these arguments, it remains difficult for secular donor agencies and FBOs to engage with each other. Drawing on interviews with key organisational actors, this article examines how the secular fiction – that is, the separation between religion and politics – plays out in policy and in Canadian International Development Agency's (CIDA's) relationship with FBOs. The article argues that CIDA and Canadian FBOs stand to gain by re-engaging with each other, and it identifies a number of obstacles preventing such a policy of engagement.

URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02255189.2012.689253

Between Missions and Development: Christian NGOs in the Canadian Development Sector

Published by Canadian Journal of Development Studies

August 22, 2014

This paper examines how Canadian Christian development organisations construct the boundaries between missions and development work. Because of their participation in evangelism, and their often conservative political and social stances, missionary organisations are considered marginal actors and are regarded with suspicion by donor agencies, secular NGOs and more liberal faith-based NGOs. Yet, they remain primary service providers in many development contexts. They make complex political decisions about fundraising and resource allocation, and these choices are affected by their efforts to balance between religious identity and strategic goals. These choices have become more difficult as missionary organisations have experienced increased pressure from the Canadian International Development Agency and their own donors to “NGO-ise”.

URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02255189.2014.934213