Reinhold Neibuhr’s Vision

Nation-states inevitably attempt to impose their will upon others, such as expressed by Russia in Ukraine today. That reality is determined by the fallenness of creation and inherently self-interested nature of individual and especially collective action, two principles that forge the core of the political theology known as Christian Realism. As the most prominent spokesman for this movement, Reinhold Niebuhr contributed remarkable insights into human nature and institutions in the twentieth century, a time when liberal and totalitarian passions ran high. Contemporary events suggest the need to revisit Niebuhr’s wisdom concerning the corruptions of the human heart and political institutions. This essay examines Russia’s devastation of Ukraine and China’s hegemonic employment of “soft power” in view of Niebuhr’s political theology, with lessons for the wider standoff between liberal democracies and authoritarian governments. It asserts that the intractability of problems in international relations is amplified by the estrangement of politics and theology in our time.