The Impact of Religious Phenomena on France's Foreign Policy: Focus on Laïcité Diplomacy

2024 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22K20107
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0106:Political science and related fields
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: Wada Moe 東北大学, 国際文化研究科, 助教 (70965029)
• Project Period (FY): 2022-08-31 – 2025-03-31
• Keywords: ライシテ / 外交

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study examines how secular states are seeking to reconstruct their relationship with religion in a contemporary context where religion is once again gaining influence. Focusing on the French principle of secularism, laicite, the analysis is conducted from the following three perspectives: (1) how the French government has perceived religious issues in international politics and how it has responded to them in its foreign policy; (2) who has articulated the concept of laicite as a principle that enables dialogue with religion, and how it has been expressed; (3) how discourses on laicite have developed within and outside France, and what underlying factors have contributed to the differences between them.

Free Research Field

政治学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

グローバルな次元で宗教復興運動が活発化する中、宗教を国際政治学の考察対象とする研究の必要性が指摘されてきた。これは、従来、国際政治において宗教的要素の役割が軽視されがちであったこととも関係している。本研究は、政教分離を掲げるフランスが宗教的要素をどのように認識し、対外政策においていかに対応してきたのかを明らかにすることで、宗教の重要性が高まる国際政治における世俗主義国家のあり方について新たな視座を提示した。また、国内の宗教政策が異なる宗教的背景を持つ他国との関係にどのような影響を及ぼしうるのかについても考察を行い、宗教と外交の接点に関する理解を深める成果を得た。