The Geopolitics of Pope Francis

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope in March 2013 with a clear agenda

of internal reform of the Vatican and the Catholic Church. Yet the

reformist Pope Francis has also developed an outspoken political agenda.

After more than six years of his pontificate, one can say that he has

become an idiosyncratic and remarkable world leader.

Among other things, he brokered an agreement between the US and Cuba;

brought South Sudan’s sworn enemies together in the Vatican, criticized

‘the globalization of indifference’ toward the plight of refugees and

migrants; made the notion of ‘periphery’ central to his geopolitical

approach; was the first Bishop of Rome to meet a Russian Patriarch of

Moscow and to visit the Arabian Peninsula; signed an unprecedented

agreement with the People’s Republic of China; and issued several

wake-up calls to Europe.

This volume collects the contributions of international experts on

different aspects of the geopolitical arena. Its aim is to provide

insights into the pope’s geopolitical approach and to help us understand

the opportunities and challenges, as well as the strengths and

weaknesses, of the Vatican’s international policy in the era of Pope

Francis.

With contributions from Sandra Arenas, Jan De Volder, Massimo Faggioli,

Brandon Gallaher, Agostino Giovagnoli, Marco Impagliazzo, Terrence

Merrigan, Stefano Picciaredda, Giuliana Rotola, Johan Verstraeten and

Jan Wouters.

Jan De Volder (ed.) is a Belgian historian with particular interest in

the roles of the Catholic Church and the world religions in

international affairs. Currently, he holds the Cusanus Chair in

‘Religion, Conflict and Peace’ of the Faculty of Theology and Religious

Studies at the KU Leuven (Belgium).