Jodok Troy
Biographic Data
| ID | 3682315 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jodok Troy |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jodok |
| FAMILY NAME | Troy |
| SIGNATURE | TROY J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Universität Innsbruck |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9755-8144 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 34 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 55 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 33 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Conceptualizing human dignity as a political concept
Existing concepts of dignity struggle when applied to political practice. Dignity is assumed to be something intrinsic, insufficiently conceptualized, or overextended. Different accounts highlight important dimensions of dignity yet often conflate ontological grounding (what dignity is) with realization (how dignity is realized in political practice). As a result, disputes about dignity’s meaning are frequently framed as disagreements about its e…
Why the Vatican Matters in Global Politics
Religious Appeals in Power Politics
Security After Christendom
Ethics as Moral Practice in Peacekeeping Missions
Identifying peacekeeping as practical ethics helps analyze how the problems of existing approaches to military ethical training led to practical problems of standard setting.This article illustrates the value of understanding ethics as a theoretical framework to confront and prepare for moral practice.Pointing out the problems in terms of how military ethics ascertain the nature of ethics, the field of military ethics frames problems in ways that…
No Victims Without Sacrifice, No Sacrifice Without Victims
This article proposes a conceptualization of violence that builds on a tripartite relationship between violence, victims, and sacrifice that frames violence as a self-justifying sacrificial act. This conceptualization delineates the nature of violence by addressing its transformation from an instrumental act to a constitutional act, making violence possible, ongoing, contagious, and productive. In particular, I argue, with the help of René Girard…
Intermediation between International Society and World Society
English School accounts of international relations always stressed some degree of interaction between political international society and ideational world society. Yet, English School research, relying on agential and structural premises, often misses how and where international society and world society interact. If intermediation between the two societies is identified, it often remains abstract. I argue that identifying agents and the standard…
Desire and Imitation in International Politics
The realist science of politics
Classical Realism represents a science of politics that is distinct from the conventional understanding of science in International Relations. The object of Realist science is the art of politics, which is the development of a sensibility based on practical knowledge to balance values and interests and to make judgments. Realism’s science and its object led to its tagging as “wisdom literature.” This article illustrates that reading Hans Morgenth…
International politics as global politics from below
The United Nations Secretary-General as an International Civil Servant
From the beginnings of the UN Secretariat, its Secretaries-General reached out to a wide audience, considering themselves servants of peace beyond narrow organizational tasks. The article argues that it is the Secretaries-General perception as an international civil servant which led them to endeavour a more expansive role ever since. To unfold this argument, the article, first, traces the international civil servant roots of the Secretary-Genera…
Legitimacy in the 'secular church' of the United Nations
This article argues that how the United Nations (UN) conceptualizes legitimacy is not only a matter of legalism or power politics. The UN's conception of legitimacy also utilizes concepts, language and symbolism from the religious realm. Understanding the entanglement between political and religious concepts and the ways of their verbalization at the agential level sheds light on how legitimacy became to be acknowledged as an integral part of the…
The containment of the Islamic State
Next to military means, causing disruption and interdiction, Western and local powers also relied on policies of containment to halt the expansion of the Islamic State’s territorial strongholds. Yet, a Cold War state-based strategy of containment seems not apt to counter a transformed Islamic State. This article, first, examines why containing the Islamic State was successful in the past. Second, the article argues that the Islamic State can stil…
The Pope’s own hand outstretched’
The unconventional nature of Holy See diplomats rests in the composite character of their ecclesiastical role as the Pope's representatives and their legal diplomatic status and commencement to ordinary diplomatic practice. Holy See diplomacy is a form of conduct created by a set of mixed secular and religious standards in which agents are guided by practices. I locate this argument within a classical English School and a conventional understandi…
International society’s challenge of targeted killing by drones
The transformation of targeted killing and international order
This article introduces the special issue's question of whether and how the current transformation of targeted killing is transforming the global international order and provides the conceptual ground for the individual contributions to the special issue. It develops a two-dimensional concept of political order and introduces a theoretical framework that conceives the maintenance and transformation of international order as a dynamic interplay be…
The Power of the Political in an Urbanizing International
In this article, I argue that there is a startling resonance between Hans Morgenthau's conception of the political and power and recent analyses of an urbanizing international realm. By making this connection clear, I depart from a mechanistic understanding of politics, which tends to inform both conventional International Relations views and some claims in urban studies pertaining to the rise of global cities as international actors. Turning to …
Two “Popes” to Speak for the World
Despite recent studies on leadership, the discipline of International Relations is still reluctant to engage in studies of individual agency in the international structure.1 Two prominent examples
Desire for power or the power of desire? Mimetic theory and the heart of twentieth-century realism
For René Girard, mimetic rivalry is the main cause of violence. Mimetic theory addresses a fundamental problem of international relations theory: the problem of anarchy as it is outlined in basic texts of Realism, also acknowledging the conflicting potential of desire. The article argues for deepening the discussion between the mimetic theory of the French philosopher, anthropologist, and literary theorist Girard and the tradition of twentieth-ce…
Rationalist state, revolutionist EU and realist war
This article examines Austria's position as a small, neutral state in the international society as framed by the English School. This examination is chiefly done in the face of the effects of great power conflicts and their impact on Western Europe's society of states. In doing so, the article provides insights to the fundamental puzzles concerning the ways power is managed between states, great and small alike. The article surveys how war (such …
The Power of the Zealots
This article evaluates the issue of religion and conflict in international relations. René Girard’s mimetic theory offers explanations for basic problems of the ‘new world order’: why violence is a persistent pattern in human and political conduct as well as the understanding of religion and conflict. Therefore the article, after an assessment of framing religion and conflict in the context of theoretical approaches to political science, evaluate…
Religion and the Realist Tradition
1. Getting theory? Realism and the study of religion in international affairs Jodok Troy 2. The Influence of the Jewish Experience on the Liberal Realism of Hans J. Morgenthau Ben Mollov 3. What is Christian about Christian Realism? John Carlson 4. Augustine of Hippo, the Pilgrim Ethic & Relational Politics Amanda Russell Beattie 5. Realism and Religion in Secular Age Cecelia Lynch 6. Liberalism's Religion Problem and the Promise of Realism in a …
Religion and Foreign Affairs
Religion and Foreign Affairs
Dennis R. Hoover and Douglas M. Johnston (eds.), Religion and Foreign Affairs: Essential Readings, Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2012, 635 pp., US$59.95, ISBN 9781602582422 In international re
Religion and the Realist Tradition
Catholic waves’ of democratization? Roman Catholicism and its potential for democratization
The aim and scope of the article is to examine if Catholicism is or can be a major force in democratization. And if so, what are its core values and motivations? To examine this issue, it is also necessary to evaluate democratization outcomes where the church was not involved. We shall see that it is unavoidable to take into account fundamental Christian and thus also Catholic values and doctrines which are – despite all 'earthly' constraints – i…
The Pope’s own hand outstretched’
The unconventional nature of Holy See diplomats rests in the composite character of their ecclesiastical role as the Pope's representatives and their legal diplomatic status and commencement to ordinary diplomatic practice. Holy See diplomacy is a form of conduct created by a set of mixed secular and religious standards in which agents are guided by practices. I locate this argument within a classical English School and a conventional understandi…
International politics as global politics from below
A Universal Sacred Mission and the Universal Secular Organization
Today, the Holy See has formal diplomatic relations with almost all states around the globe as well as with the United Nations (UN), where it holds the curious position of a Permanent Observer. Representing a universal sacred mission, the Holy See views the UN as one of the most important avenues in international relations for pursuing its aims. Vatican diplomats have thus been at the forefront of lobbying for human dignity at the UN in various c…
The transformation of targeted killing and international order
This article introduces the special issue's question of whether and how the current transformation of targeted killing is transforming the global international order and provides the conceptual ground for the individual contributions to the special issue. It develops a two-dimensional concept of political order and introduces a theoretical framework that conceives the maintenance and transformation of international order as a dynamic interplay be…
The containment of the Islamic State
Next to military means, causing disruption and interdiction, Western and local powers also relied on policies of containment to halt the expansion of the Islamic State’s territorial strongholds. Yet, a Cold War state-based strategy of containment seems not apt to counter a transformed Islamic State. This article, first, examines why containing the Islamic State was successful in the past. Second, the article argues that the Islamic State can stil…
Two “Popes” to Speak for the World
Despite recent studies on leadership, the discipline of International Relations is still reluctant to engage in studies of individual agency in the international structure.1 Two prominent examples
Intermediation between International Society and World Society
English School accounts of international relations always stressed some degree of interaction between political international society and ideational world society. Yet, English School research, relying on agential and structural premises, often misses how and where international society and world society interact. If intermediation between the two societies is identified, it often remains abstract. I argue that identifying agents and the standard…
The realist science of politics
Classical Realism represents a science of politics that is distinct from the conventional understanding of science in International Relations. The object of Realist science is the art of politics, which is the development of a sensibility based on practical knowledge to balance values and interests and to make judgments. Realism’s science and its object led to its tagging as “wisdom literature.” This article illustrates that reading Hans Morgenth…
Desire for power or the power of desire? Mimetic theory and the heart of twentieth-century realism
For René Girard, mimetic rivalry is the main cause of violence. Mimetic theory addresses a fundamental problem of international relations theory: the problem of anarchy as it is outlined in basic texts of Realism, also acknowledging the conflicting potential of desire. The article argues for deepening the discussion between the mimetic theory of the French philosopher, anthropologist, and literary theorist Girard and the tradition of twentieth-ce…
Faith-Based Diplomacy under Examination
Religion has been largely absent in diplomacy, particularly in the Western world, for a long time. Some would even say since the Enlightenment. Moreover, religion has been ignored in present-day theories of international relations, and thus also in diplomatic studies. A recent 'resurgence' of religion in international affairs, however, presents an opportunity to apply moral insights and religious concepts towards the development of peaceful settl…
The United Nations Secretary-General as an International Civil Servant
From the beginnings of the UN Secretariat, its Secretaries-General reached out to a wide audience, considering themselves servants of peace beyond narrow organizational tasks. The article argues that it is the Secretaries-General perception as an international civil servant which led them to endeavour a more expansive role ever since. To unfold this argument, the article, first, traces the international civil servant roots of the Secretary-Genera…
International society’s challenge of targeted killing by drones
The Power of the Political in an Urbanizing International
In this article, I argue that there is a startling resonance between Hans Morgenthau's conception of the political and power and recent analyses of an urbanizing international realm. By making this connection clear, I depart from a mechanistic understanding of politics, which tends to inform both conventional International Relations views and some claims in urban studies pertaining to the rise of global cities as international actors. Turning to …
Dag Hammarskjöld
The United Nation's secretary-general from 1953 to 1961, Dag Hammarskjöld, whose spiritual beliefs influenced his political activity, was searching for universality and solidarity as written in the charter of the UN. While in office, Hammarskjöld was able to unite personal belief and political rationale. This is the main reason he became a respected and true international civil servant. Hammarskjöld was neither a pure idealist nor a pure realist.…
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication
Interventions
New World Empire
Faith-Based Diplomacy under Examination
Religion has been largely absent in diplomacy, particularly in the Western world, for a long time. Some would even say since the Enlightenment. Moreover, religion has been ignored in present-day theories of international relations, and thus also in diplomatic studies. A recent 'resurgence' of religion in international affairs, however, presents an opportunity to apply moral insights and religious concepts towards the development of peaceful settl…
Catholic waves’ of democratization? Roman Catholicism and its potential for democratization
The aim and scope of the article is to examine if Catholicism is or can be a major force in democratization. And if so, what are its core values and motivations? To examine this issue, it is also necessary to evaluate democratization outcomes where the church was not involved. We shall see that it is unavoidable to take into account fundamental Christian and thus also Catholic values and doctrines which are – despite all 'earthly' constraints – i…
Dag Hammarskjöld
The United Nation's secretary-general from 1953 to 1961, Dag Hammarskjöld, whose spiritual beliefs influenced his political activity, was searching for universality and solidarity as written in the charter of the UN. While in office, Hammarskjöld was able to unite personal belief and political rationale. This is the main reason he became a respected and true international civil servant. Hammarskjöld was neither a pure idealist nor a pure realist.…
Jens Stilhoff Sörensen, State Collapse and Reconstruction in the Periphery. Political Economy, Ethnicity and Development in Yugoslavia, Serbia and Kosovo
Article Jens Stilhoff Sörensen, State Collapse and Reconstruction in the Periphery. Political Economy, Ethnicity and Development in Yugoslavia, Serbia and Kosovo was published on April 1, 2011 in the journal Comparative Southeast European Studies (volume 59, issue 4)
A Universal Sacred Mission and the Universal Secular Organization
Today, the Holy See has formal diplomatic relations with almost all states around the globe as well as with the United Nations (UN), where it holds the curious position of a Permanent Observer. Representing a universal sacred mission, the Holy See views the UN as one of the most important avenues in international relations for pursuing its aims. Vatican diplomats have thus been at the forefront of lobbying for human dignity at the UN in various c…
Christian Approaches to International Affairs
Troy analyses how the understanding of religion in Realism and the English School helps in working towards the greater good in international relations, studying religion within the overall framework o
The Power of the Zealots
This article evaluates the issue of religion and conflict in international relations. René Girard’s mimetic theory offers explanations for basic problems of the ‘new world order’: why violence is a persistent pattern in human and political conduct as well as the understanding of religion and conflict. Therefore the article, after an assessment of framing religion and conflict in the context of theoretical approaches to political science, evaluate…
Religion and the Realist Tradition
1. Getting theory? Realism and the study of religion in international affairs Jodok Troy 2. The Influence of the Jewish Experience on the Liberal Realism of Hans J. Morgenthau Ben Mollov 3. What is Christian about Christian Realism? John Carlson 4. Augustine of Hippo, the Pilgrim Ethic & Relational Politics Amanda Russell Beattie 5. Realism and Religion in Secular Age Cecelia Lynch 6. Liberalism's Religion Problem and the Promise of Realism in a …
Religion and Foreign Affairs
Religion and Foreign Affairs
Dennis R. Hoover and Douglas M. Johnston (eds.), Religion and Foreign Affairs: Essential Readings, Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2012, 635 pp., US$59.95, ISBN 9781602582422 In international re
Religion and the Realist Tradition
Rationalist state, revolutionist EU and realist war
This article examines Austria's position as a small, neutral state in the international society as framed by the English School. This examination is chiefly done in the face of the effects of great power conflicts and their impact on Western Europe's society of states. In doing so, the article provides insights to the fundamental puzzles concerning the ways power is managed between states, great and small alike. The article surveys how war (such …
Desire for power or the power of desire? Mimetic theory and the heart of twentieth-century realism
For René Girard, mimetic rivalry is the main cause of violence. Mimetic theory addresses a fundamental problem of international relations theory: the problem of anarchy as it is outlined in basic texts of Realism, also acknowledging the conflicting potential of desire. The article argues for deepening the discussion between the mimetic theory of the French philosopher, anthropologist, and literary theorist Girard and the tradition of twentieth-ce…
International society’s challenge of targeted killing by drones
The transformation of targeted killing and international order
This article introduces the special issue's question of whether and how the current transformation of targeted killing is transforming the global international order and provides the conceptual ground for the individual contributions to the special issue. It develops a two-dimensional concept of political order and introduces a theoretical framework that conceives the maintenance and transformation of international order as a dynamic interplay be…
The Power of the Political in an Urbanizing International
In this article, I argue that there is a startling resonance between Hans Morgenthau's conception of the political and power and recent analyses of an urbanizing international realm. By making this connection clear, I depart from a mechanistic understanding of politics, which tends to inform both conventional International Relations views and some claims in urban studies pertaining to the rise of global cities as international actors. Turning to …
Two “Popes” to Speak for the World
Despite recent studies on leadership, the discipline of International Relations is still reluctant to engage in studies of individual agency in the international structure.1 Two prominent examples
The Pope’s own hand outstretched’
The unconventional nature of Holy See diplomats rests in the composite character of their ecclesiastical role as the Pope's representatives and their legal diplomatic status and commencement to ordinary diplomatic practice. Holy See diplomacy is a form of conduct created by a set of mixed secular and religious standards in which agents are guided by practices. I locate this argument within a classical English School and a conventional understandi…
The containment of the Islamic State
Next to military means, causing disruption and interdiction, Western and local powers also relied on policies of containment to halt the expansion of the Islamic State’s territorial strongholds. Yet, a Cold War state-based strategy of containment seems not apt to counter a transformed Islamic State. This article, first, examines why containing the Islamic State was successful in the past. Second, the article argues that the Islamic State can stil…
International politics as global politics from below
The United Nations Secretary-General as an International Civil Servant
From the beginnings of the UN Secretariat, its Secretaries-General reached out to a wide audience, considering themselves servants of peace beyond narrow organizational tasks. The article argues that it is the Secretaries-General perception as an international civil servant which led them to endeavour a more expansive role ever since. To unfold this argument, the article, first, traces the international civil servant roots of the Secretary-Genera…
Legitimacy in the 'secular church' of the United Nations
This article argues that how the United Nations (UN) conceptualizes legitimacy is not only a matter of legalism or power politics. The UN's conception of legitimacy also utilizes concepts, language and symbolism from the religious realm. Understanding the entanglement between political and religious concepts and the ways of their verbalization at the agential level sheds light on how legitimacy became to be acknowledged as an integral part of the…
Political science (28 works) · Law (27 works) · Politics (26 works) · Sociology (21 works) · Law (20 works) · Philosophy (15 works) · Religion and Society Interactions (13 works) · International relations (12 works) · Religion, Society, and Development (10 works) · Philosophy (9 works)