LISD created the Program on Religion, Diplomacy and International relations in 2007 in response to the undeniable role religion is playing in interstate and intrastate conflicts and aspects of international affairs in the twenty-first century. The program offers students and faculty at Princeton University the opportunity to study, reflect and generate ideas concerning the multiple intersections of religion, diplomacy and international relations. The project currently includes a student fellowship program, weekly seminar series, and public lecture series. The program is co-directed by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Danspeckgruber.

The Program on Religion, Diplomacy and International Relations (PORDIR) has announced the selecton of fifteen Fellows in Religion, Diplomacy and International Relations for the 2008-2009 academic year. The fellows are: Rabia Ali, Efe M. Balikcioglu, Jaquilyn Waddell Boie, Nicole Brunda, Asher D. Hildebrand, Katharina A. Ivanyi, Deepa Iyer, Alicia Juskewycz, Rohan Mukherjee, Daniel Nikbakht, Jan Thomas Otte, Daniel V. Polk, Ed Shin, Lachlyn Soper, and Alan Verskin.

PORDIR offers students and faculty at Princeton University the opportunity to study, reflect and generate ideas concerning the multiple intersections of religion, diplomacy and international relations. It is co-directed by Wolfgang Danspeckgruber, Director of the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, and The Rev. Paul Raushenbush, Assistant Dean of Religious Life. PORDIR explores the influence of religion and religious beliefs in the conduct of international relations, diplomacy and politics; facilitates discussions about religion and international relations in a neutral, non-ideological forum; encourages interdisciplinary, intergenerational, international and interreligious exchanges among students, scholars and policy practitioners; and promotes research, teaching and publication relating to religion and international relations.

PORDIR convens a weekly luncheon seminar series, sponsorspublic lectures at Princeton by distinguished academics and practitioners in the field, and convenes an annual international colloquium on the subject of religion and diplomacy.

Fellows will present at least one paper during the 2008-2009 academic year at the program’s luncheon seminar series, attend all lectures given under the auspices of the program, assist in the planning of the program’s annual colloquium, and produce an academic journal-length article. Fellows will have input in the program’s long-term planning, will help select featured speakers for the program’s lecture series, and will be full participants in the annual PORDIR conference