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For many of us, the 20th century ended in 1989 as communism and that bigger-than-life metaphor, the Berlin, Wall came crashing down. Twelve years later, a new century effectively began, dated by the sobering event of what is now simply called "9/11." The intervening years marked a world in transition as the global community dealt with the ambiguity and chaos brought on by new rules, different players, and changing alliances.

The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God and World Affairs by Madeleine Albright HarperCollins 352 pp.; $25.95

A major component of this transition was the very nature of conflict. International wars between states, fought on the basis of nationalism and ideologies, were replaced by intra-national slug-fests. The non-state actor emerged, challenging militaries still preparing to fight the last war. National boundaries meant little. Organizational charts, wire diagrams, and multi-billion dollar defense budgets were largely upstaged by a focused rage and purpose, driven only by identity.

Indeed, they were called "identity wars." Ethnicity provided a rationale, religion supplied the passion, and the brutality of conflict was driven skyward. Orthodox Serbs, Catholic Croats, and Muslim Bosniaks alternately ethnically cleansed the "other" in the Balkans. Aberrations of religious identity appeared in the terribly ironic title of Northern Uganda's "Lord's Resistance Army," as well as in the shadowy band of holy warriors known as Al Qaeda. Humanity was being brutalized by protracted and unpredictable conflict conducted in the name of a higher power.

In retrospect, it should not be surprising that the first two wars of the 21st century—Afghanistan and Iraq—are religious in nature. Certainly, our enemies feel comfortable with this analysis. Suicidal in the extreme and complemented by the intentional targeting of innocents, these conflicts highlight the worst of religion. In this secular age, there are still many who would die for their faith. Unfortunately, there are just as many who would kill for their religion. Environments grow hostile; minority groups, many formed by their beliefs, become fearful. We live in a world no longer safe for diversity, especially when that diversity is created by the passions of religious beliefs. This is the context that compels former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to write about the role of religion in foreign affairs.

It will surprise some and hearten many that someone of Madeleine Albright's stature would call attention to this new component in the geopolitical calculus. Albright not only lived through this seismic transition, she held major positions of power, both within the United Nations, and most recently, as Secretary of State. In The Mighty and the Almighty, we get the clarity of reflection and the candor of hindsight as she assesses the role of religion at the political level and, more importantly, the indispensability of religious analysis in understanding and reacting to global events. Given her responsibilities and concomitant accountability throughout this period, her perspective, to say the least, is important, and it needs to be taken seriously. Personally, as one who "worked" the issue of religion and international affairs under Secretary Albright (and was privileged to be able to read and react to this manuscript in its earliest iterations), I applaud the final product.

From the outset, there were three interrelated objectives that needed to be met in order for this book to be a success. First, she had to write it! Albright was Secretary of State, the senior diplomat for the last remaining superpower. Who better to highlight the role of religion during one of the most difficult periods of history? Who better to break the traditions, reinforced in our culture during the last several decades, of not talking in polite company about religion? Who better to give this issue the oxygen it deserves (while politicians attempt to suffocate all available space with gas-price debates, mid-term elections, and why "two-step" versus "comprehensive" approach is better at solving immigration issues). This book, by this writer, assures us that religion will no longer be the missing element in our foreign policy. Quite simply, religion becomes important when someone important says it is.

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June (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50