by Kenneth R. Himes

About the author: Kenneth R. Himes, of the Order of Friars Minor, is an associate professor at the Washington Theological Union in Silver Spring, Maryland, and is coauthor of Fullness of Faith: The Public Significance of Theology.

It has become a commonplace to note that we live in a new context for thinking about international relations. The cold war is over. The bipolar mind- set that saw the world as essentially a contest between two superpowers with allies arrayed behind both the United States and the Soviet Union is no longer helpful for understanding foreign or military policy. For its time, whatever its deficiencies, the bipolar viewpoint was elegant in its simplicity. Now things are a good deal more messy, as any suitable theory of international relations must encompass a variety of important actors...