The London School of Economics and Political Science Universal Rights
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The London School of Economics and Political Science Universal Rights in a Divided World: The Human Rights Engagement of the World Council of Churches from the 1940s to the 1970s Bastiaan Bouwman A thesis submitted to the Department of International History of the London School of Economics and Political Science for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, September 2018 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 99,992 words. 2 Abstract This dissertation traces the human rights engagement of the ecumenical movement through its most important institutional embodiment, the World Council of Churches (WCC). In doing so, it contributes to the historiography on human rights, on the WCC, and on religious internationalism. The first part of the dissertation argues that from the 1940s to the 1960s, the WCC’s human rights engagement was strongly focused on religious freedom and extended well beyond the United Nations. Scholarship on the WCC had addressed its advocacy against curtailment of religious freedom communist states in some detail, a story that this dissertation retraces in relation to recent work on human rights, using the case of the Soviet Union. But the ecumenical movement also saw two other major opponents, Islam (especially in the context of decolonization) and political Roman Catholicism, which led it to lobby and campaign for religious freedom in countries including Indonesia, Nigeria, and Spain. The second part of the dissertation considers the expansion of the WCC’s human rights agenda. Over the course of the 1960s, the cause of antiracism invited piecemeal expansion of the WCC’s human rights agenda. Only in the early 1970s, however, did the WCC develop a radically new conception of human rights, shaped above all by the need to respond to military dictatorships in Latin America. It sought to develop a conception of human rights that could be effective in addressing not only questions of political repression but also the structural causes underlying it. Whereas the historiography on human rights has thus far focused on secular liberals and conservative Catholics, this dissertation brings into view the transnational activities of the predominantly Protestant ecumenical movement. The WCC’s human rights engagement, which refracted but also impacted on the Cold War, decolonization, and secularization, represented an important strand of postwar internationalism. 3 Acknowledgments I could not have written this dissertation without the support, advice and friendship of many. I am grateful to my supervisor, Piers Ludlow, who was always supportive and ready to help if need be, especially so during the final sprint. His wide-ranging knowledge of contemporary European history, the Cold War, and beyond, ensured that as the project’s scope expanded, it remained firmly grounded, while his critical eye for argumentation and detail motivated me to work to a high standard. Moreover, his support in acquiring teaching and other academic work experience was invaluable, since these things helped me develop a more well-rounded and professional perspective on my research. I would also like to thank James C. Kennedy, who pointed me towards the World Council of Churches, encouraging me to add to my interests in the history of human rights and nongovernmental organizations – in the form of Amnesty International – one in the relationship between religion and politics. Furthermore, Samuel Moyn’s work has exerted a formative influence on my approach to the history of human rights – The Last Utopia came out just as I embarked on postgraduate studies – and I have benefited a great deal from brief encounters with him over the years. I much appreciate the opportunity that writing this dissertation has given me to engage with a wide range of scholars. The literature on both human rights and the ecumenical movement has been developing rapidly since I started the project. Brandon Bloch, Nathan Kurz, Tina Reeh, Justin Reynolds, and Gene Zubovich generously shared their unpublished dissertations with me, John Carter Wood his Habilitationsschrift, and Marleen van den Berg her MA dissertation. Eric Arnesen, Robert Brier, Julia Dehm, Udi Greenberg, Christiaan Harinck and Bart Luttikhuis kindly provided me with forthcoming work, and Mario del Pero helpfully gave me insight into his research. A number of scholars were kind enough to read a draft chapter along the way: Alfons Brüning, Peter van Dam, Vesselin Dimitrov, Bernhard Gissibl, Tanya Harmer, James C. Kennedy, Lucian Leustean, Johannes Paulmann, and Vlad Zubok. Zubok and Arne Westad acted as my examiners in the first-year ‘mini-viva’. I also gained a great deal from participating in the Journal of Global History’s special issue on ‘the Theory and Practice of Ecumenism’, for which I would like to reiterate my thanks to the editors, James C. Kennedy, Justin Reynolds, and Elisabeth Engel. More informal discussions with many others helped to focus my work, among whom were Christian Albers, Arnd Bauerkämper, Clemens van den Berg, Stephen Brown, Boyd van Dijk, Tim Hochstrasser, Katharina Kunter, Konstantina Maragkou, Effie Pedaliu, and Esther Reed. 4 I received a great deal of useful feedback from presenting at a number of workshops and conferences: the LSE’s International History Research Seminar, the LSE-Sciences Po International History Seminar, the International History seminar of the Institute for Historical Research, a meeting of the ‘Blueprints of Hope’ research group at Utrecht University, the GWU-UCSB-LSE Graduate Conference on the Cold War, the Annual Conference of the British International History Group, the Annual Conference of the European Academy of Religion, the workshop ‘Historians Without Borders’ organized by the research group on ‘Rethinking Disability’ at Leiden University, the Columbia University-LSE Research Seminar, and the Gerda Henkel Academy at Villa Vigoni. I am especially grateful to the Leibniz Institute for European History, in Mainz, for its continued support: first by having me at its graduate workshop on ‘European History across Boundaries’, then as part of its wonderful Global Humanitarianism Research Academy, co-organized with the University of Exeter, the International Committee for the Red Cross and the German Historical Institute, and finally, and most importantly, as a doctoral fellow for the last half year of writing up. Johannes Paulmann, Fabian Klose, and Bernhard Gissibl, and the rest of the Institute’s staff, provided an intellectually stimulating atmosphere and discussing my work with them was of great help. Living with the other fellows at the institute made my stay not only productive but deeply enjoyable. These dedicated six months of (nearly) monastic conditions played a crucial role in allowing me to complete the dissertation the way I had in mind. At the WCC’s archives, I was welcomed and supported by Anne-Emmanuelle Tankam and Hans von Rütte, and by the WCC’s librarian, Valérie Kim. The WCC’s archives were the most pleasant I have worked in, and Anne-Emmanuelle and Hans’s support was indispensable in managing the geographical and chronological scope of the dissertation. The work carried out by Dwain C. Epps, cataloging the archives of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, was likewise essential. While the WCC’s archives supplied the lion’s share of the materials I used, I also obtained many useful documents from archives elsewhere, including the Utrechts Archief and the Catholic Documentation Center of the Radboud University in Nijmegen. On an especially enjoyable visit to the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia, I benefited from the warm hospitality and knowledge of Roger and Amy Clark. Finally, I am very grateful for the opportunity I had to speak with some of the protagonists of the story: Dwain C. Epps, Baldwin Sjollema, and Theo van Boven graciously agreed to be interviewed about their experiences in the ecumenical movement. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, VSBfonds, the LSE’s Marshall Institute, the LSE’s Department of International History, and the LSE’s Postgraduate 5 Travel Fund for their contributions towards funding my research. In addition, I am deeply thankful for the support offered by Lammert de Jong and Lester Ramsey, Sonja van Londen and Ed Berkhout, and Nienke Meeter and Kees Veling. Without these contributions, it would not have been possible for me to take the leap to London. During my time at the LSE, I have been fortunate to work together with and get to know many great people. Working at LSE IDEAS helped to get away from the dissertation, to think about international affairs more broadly, and above all to be part of a vibrant team. Luc-André Brunet helped me find my way as part of the Cold War Studies Project, which Roham Alvandi directed during my final months there, and it has been a pleasure to work with Lindsay Aqui at Cold War History journal. Above all, though, it was the company and friendship of my fellow PhD students at the Department – especially Alexandre Dab, Cees Heere, Anne Irfan, Will King, Alex Mayhew, Tommaso Milani, Eline van Ommen, Michael Rupp, Isaac Scarborough, Max Skjonsberg, and Ian Stewart – that have made my time at the LSE one that I will look back on with warm memories.