State, Religion, and Violence

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

The relationship between the state and the church is as old as complicated. This panel puts together a collection of papers that examine the nature of the church-state relationship—sometimes conflictual, sometimes cooperative—and its short- and long-run consequences for state building and political loyalties. The paper by Grzymala-Busse examines the role of the church in the fragmentation of the Carolingian Empire in the Early Middle Ages, giving rise to a constellation of new states and changing political loyalties that characterized the European state system in the centuries to come. The paper by Stavnskær & Møller examine the role of the church in the Crusades in the High Middle Ages, shedding light on the European bellicose tradition that contributed to state making in Western Europe. Fast forward, the paper by Amat examines the role of the Catholic Church in mediating between the government and political dissidents in recent military dictatorships, helping reduce overall levels of political violence. Lastly, Peisakhin and Queralt examine the persecution of Catholic leaders during Nazi Germany. A deliberate attempt by the Nazi regime to eliminate a competing form of social legitimacy backfired, forging long-lasting political Catholicism. Together, the panel offers a panoramic view of the complex relationship between the church and the state, affecting state building and persistent political identities. Margit Tavits and Carles Boix have kindly agreed to act as discussants and offer their insights on these important matters.

Sub Unit

• Division 11: Comparative Politics

Cosponsor

• Division 33: Religion and Politics

Individual Presentations

• The Church and the Fragmentation of Territorial Authority - Anna M. Grzymala-Busse, Stanford University

• Christianization of War: Church Reform, Armsbearing Elites, and the Holy Land - Jonathan Doucette, Aarhus University; Jorgen Moller, University of Aarhus

• The Power of Protectors: Accounting for Mobilization under Repression - Consuelo Amat, Johns Hopkins University

• When the State and Church Clash: Repression of Catholic Leaders in Nazi Germany - Leonid V. Peisakhin, New York University - Abu Dhabi; Didac Queralt, Yale University

Chair

• Margit Tavits Washington University in St. Louis

Discussant

• Carles Boix Princeton University