Co-Winner of the 2011 Hubert Morken Award for the Best Publication in Religion and Politics, Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association "This book is a timely and sobering discussion of important theoretical, as well as practical, issues of IR theorizing and how religion relates to politics in general. It is a first-rate read and can be recommended to all scholars interested in the interplay of religion and politics."--Ragnhild Nordas, Journal of Peace Research "Hurd has produced a timely and compelling book that will be of interest to a wide range of scholars well beyond the discipline of international relations theory."--Dianne Kirby, H-Net Reviews "Hurd's study deserves praise for its original slant on the role of secularism in international relations. Its rich and well-written discussion in both case studies will also attract academics in related areas."--Hakki Tas, Political Studies Review "[T]his is a useful and provocative work that should be read carefully. Its analysis should be applied to other contexts, because without an adequate understanding of religion--or even of our own misconceptions about religion--we will continue to mismanage our relations with states and communities shaped in part by faith identities."--John Anderson, International Affairs "There is much to like about this exhaustively researched book. Its innovative argument calls on those who study the relationship of religion to international relations to rethink how they view their subject at the most fundamental level. I would recommend it to anyone doing research in this field, especially those working on the responses of the West to political Islam."--Patrick Callahan, Journal of Politics and Religion "Elizabeth Hurd presents a valuable analysis that ... contains a wide bibliography, makes use of interdisciplinary theoretical insights, and illuminates contemporary political events."--Ali Yasar Sanbay, Turkish Journal of Islamic Studies