A State, a Diplomat, and a Transnational Church: The Multi-layered Actorness of the Holy See
A State, a Diplomat, and a Transnational Church: The Multi-layered Actorness of the Holy See

Summary/Abstract: There are many religious actors in world politics but only one of them represents more than one billion people, has an historical record as a political actor, is the only religious actor with a special status in the UN, has full diplomatic relations with most states, acts as a norm entrepreneur in the global public sphere and, nevertheless, attracts almost no attention from IR scholars: the Holy See. The Holy See is the pope as a subject of international law. The unique persistence of a monarchical principle in the transformations of world politics can be explained by themany levels the pope can act on: those of the Vatican State, diplomatic relations, and the transnational church. The pope’s activities on all these levels constitute a multilayered actorness with increasing influence on the global public sphere.

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