Eric Patterson

Eric Patterson, Ph.D., is President & CEO of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in Washington, DC and scholar-at-large and past dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University. His expertise, informed by time at the US Department of State and in the military, is on just war thinking, the nexus of religion and national security, and Christian Realism. He is the author or editor of 22 books, including Just American Wars, Politics in a Religious World, and Ending Wars Well.

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Violence against Nigerian Christians Risks Destabilizing West Africa
Violence against Nigerian Christians Risks Destabilizing West Africa

The violence against Nigerian Christians has recently entered a new, deadlier phase. Unless conditions on the ground change, Nigeria’s Middle Belt Christians face death or expulsion in many areas.

New Christian Realism from the Amsterdam School: Review of Simon Polinder & Govert Bujis’ Christian Faith, Philosophy, and International Relations: The Lamb and the Wolf
New Christian Realism from the Amsterdam School: Review of Simon Polinder & Govert Bujis’ Christian Faith, Philosophy, and International Relations: The Lamb and the Wolf

Simon Polinder and Govert Bujis advance a new school of Christian international relations thinking that they call “The Amsterdam School.” Time will tell if this distinctively Neo-Calvinist international relations approach is possible.

Just War and America’s Wars - Eric Patterson - National Security Conference 2019
Just War and America’s Wars – Christianity & National Security Conference 2019

Eric Patterson, author of Just American Wars, spoke on Just War Thinking during Providence‘s annual National Security Conference in November…

Evangelicals’ Foreign Policy Views Are More Diverse than Academic Portrayals | Book Review of Timothy D. Padgett’s Swords and Plowshares
Evangelicals’ Views on Foreign Policy and War Are More Diverse than Many Assume | Review of Padgett’s Swords and Plowshares

Modern authors tend to view American evangelicals as a monolithic assembly, rarely describing the varying facets of their beliefs. In his book “Swords and Plowshares: American Evangelicals on War, 1937–1973,” Timothy D. Padgett attempts to dispel this misconception.

The Treaty of Versailles and Religious Freedom
The Treaty of Versailles and Religious Freedom

The Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I, was signed one hundred years ago this week. What is often forgotten is that this treaty—or better yet, set of treaties—did recognize and advance, albeit in a limited way, the religious freedom of average citizens.

ProvCast Ep. 32: American Justness in War—from Independence, WWII, Vietnam, and Beyond

In this episode of the Foreign Policy ProvCast, Eric Patterson speaks about his book Just American Wars: Ethical Dilemmas in US Military History.

Donald Trump 2019 State of the Union Inspired
Trump’s State of the Union Address Inspired

In his State of the Union Address, Donald Trump promoted a vision of American leadership for the twenty-first century.

Pompeo Criticizes Obama’s Middle East Policy, Explains New Era Has Begun
Pompeo’s Cairo Speech Criticizes Obama’s Middle East Policy, Explains New Era Has Begun

Observers expected Pompeo’s Cairo visit to defend President Trump’s drawdown in Syria. Instead, Pompeo systematically dismantled the failed Middle East policies of the Obama administration.

Europe Populism Nationalism Threat
Does Europe Face a Populism, Nationalism Threat?

There are at least two powerful nationalisms in Europe that are chauvinistic, appropriate religious institutions and identities, and are led by powerful leaders.

Just War & National Honor: The Case of Vietnam
Just War & National Honor: The Case of Vietnam

Just war theorizing has typically left the issue of national honor untouched, although warriors and statesmen routinely emphasize the importance of vindicating the sacrifice of the fallen. Does prolonging a war in order to assuage or vindicate national honor comport with the just war tradition?

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