Rethinking nation-building: A Christian socio-ethical and theo-political task for appropriating the common good

Intractable civil and regional conflicts are creating the worst political, economic, and social disintegration around the globe, raising moral and ethical questions about the appropriate responses by the global community in general and the Christian community in particular. In view of these problems, we argue for the concept of genuine nation-building as an effective framework and panacea for addressing these crises. Why have there been many failed attempts at nation-building and the obstructing cleavages? Christians cannot claim to be marginalized from the center of power and affluences with responsibilities in the political, social, cultural, and economic institutions of society.;The basic method used in this dissertation is the application of historical narratives to understanding the phenomenon of failed states and assessing the strengths, weaknesses and ongoing relevance of Christianity and the International Community in the global public sphere of political, economic, and social policies and practices that have either created these failures or addressed them. In particular, we argue that Christianity provides distinctive perspectives on love, hope, justice and the common good as lenses for understanding self-interest through Christian realism as articulated by Reinhold Niebuhr. On this basis, it is in our interest and is a moral responsibility to champion the cause of nation-building, grounded in an ethical paradigm that also draws upon secular theories and practices. As a future research, we hope to observe the implications of this work on Christians who are cognizant and actively participating in nation-building as an ethical and theological task for the in breaking of God's Kingdom in the here and now.