Christ and Covenant in Global Politics
Christ and Covenant in Global Politics, Robert J. Joustra. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514007860) 2026.
Summary: A vision for global politics grounded in justice as rightly ordered love and covenantal pluralism.
Robert Joustra undertakes what few have tried to do–articulate a Christian vision for international politics. To do so, Joustra draws upon Augustinian and Reformed thought which he distills into two major ideas. The first of these is justice as rightly ordered love–ordo amoris. The second of these is covenantal pluralism–relations reflecting shared love expressed in shared commitments. They are pluralistic because the agreed upon political goods are proximate and penultimate, not requiring ultimate bonds
The book is in three parts. The first explores the question of justice in international relations. After articulating a biblical groundwork for his two main ideas, he discusses how realism, liberal internationalism, communism, and social constructivism conflict with his biblical account.
The second part, then, explores systems of justice in international relations. The big insight is that unlike systems of states, and the appearance of some form of global order in things like the G20, in fact anarchy is the rule of international relations. In such a situation, Joustra argues for an international politics based not on law but covenantal relations between countries built on a measure of trust and shared values, even though different countries might ground those values differently. The outstanding example of this is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The third part explores justice in action in international relations. He explores responses to plague, pestilence, and global boundaries as examples of the “tragedy of the commons.” Rather than global governance, Joustra points to covenant-like agreements such as those addressing ozone, acid rain, and ocean acidification. These were proximate rather than ultimate solutions. He wrestles with the morality of markets and economic life. And he articulates a version of just war theory as best conforming to rightly ordered love when nations resort to armed conflict and conclude those conflicts.
Some may fault Joustra for the lack of specific solutions to the international challenges faced by any statesperson. Personally, I’m glad he does not articulate visions of a global order, which are either scary or impractical. Rather, for the Christian engaged in statecraft, he articulates a basic framework of loving justice and covenantal relations, often in more localized spheres, such as North America, or the EU. Proximate agreements rather than ultimate solutions move justice between countries forward in a fallen world. Rather than hubris and power contests, he articulates what it is to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly” on an international basis. This is a valuable introduction that I’d love to see worked out in practice. And it makes a case that this is noble work for Christians.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.