Toleration

This paper argues that the synodal network, courtesy of Dutch refugees fleeing Spanish persecution in the late 1560s, gave the German-speaking Reformed congregation in Cologne the tools they required to plant deep roots in a Catholic city. Through mutual aid and solidarity, thes…

This dissertation places the works of Étienne de la Boétie (1530-1563) in dialogue with those of Jean Bodin (1530-1601) in order to better understand how competing notions of human nature, freedom, and conceptual (not to mention, literal) boundaries of civic belonging and politi…

Catholic regimes in post-Tridentine Italy were expected to enforce religious orthodoxy domestically while supporting ideological and military Crusade abroad. However, the demands of spiritual stewardship often conflicted with the mercantilist interests of the state. Combining me…

Today, the concepts "toleration" and "pluralism" are generally taken to be synonymous. Yet Baruch Spinoza's rationalist political philosophy outlined a conception of positive liberty, as well as a robust doctrine of toleration, which grew out of a monistic metaphysics instead. E…

The first two decades of Husni Mubarak's presidency witnessed increased sectarian conflict between Egypt's Muslim and Christian communities, a by-product of rising religious identification in Egypt during the 1980's and 19901s. Even in a context of sectarian conflict, however, i…

This dissertation explores the development of political Islam in recent years. Specifically, it tries to explain why in some Muslim countries the state repression of the moderate political Islamist movements was followed by pervasive Islamist violence, whereas in others peaceful…