'Citizenship Without Illusions': contract signed and book forthcoming

I am pleased to report that on 20 January I signed a contract with InterVarsity Press, publisher of my first book, Political Visions and Illusions, to write a new book under the provisional title, "Citizenship Without Illusions." In effect, this new work is a sequel to the earlier one, and I plan to draw out some of its practical implications for ordinary Christians wishing to live out their citizenship in a way that honours God and serves their neighbours. The idea for this book was suggested to me by my good friend Bruce Ashford in a phone conversation a few years ago, and I decided to take it up. Like my first two books, this too grows out of three decades of teaching political science to undergraduate students at a Christian university here in Canada.

At this point, I have divided the book into ten chapters, although this may change in the course of the writing process. Here is the tentative layout:

Chapter 1 will discuss the nature of citizenship and its meaning, along with its history, beginning with the Greeks and Romans up to the present.

Chapter 2 will discuss how to be a good citizen. This will cover the responsibilities of citizenship, including obedience to the laws, keeping informed on the events of the day, and participating in public affairs when called on to do so. We will also cover the responsibilities of Christian citizens living under less than fully democratic governments.

Chapter 3 will explore the relationship between citizenship in our political communities and our ultimate loyalty to God's kingdom. What if these two kingdoms collide in some fashion? Here we will look at civil disobedience as an option under extreme conditions.

Chapter 4 will discuss how to vote and otherwise participate when the political alternatives are less than optimal. We will here touch on the impact of electoral systems in limiting options even in an otherwise democratic constitution.

Chapter 5 will cover the ways that we might mobilize for political action, beginning at the local level.

Chapter 6 will cover a phenomenon that I have labelled the virtual illusion. In many respects it is rooted in the historic liberalism that has conditioned our polities in the English-speaking world, but it has been enhanced (or exacerbated) by the rise of the internet and social media, as well as by the COVID pandemic.

Chapter 7 will cover the historic cleavage between professed progressives and conservatives.Here we will analyze what I believe is fuelling this tension and how a biblical worldview can break their monopoly over policy debates.

Chapter 8 will examine several concrete political issues that have divided our polities, from economic and monetary policies to religious freedom, beginning- and end-of-life issues, poverty, the environment, and immigration.

Chapter 9 will examine the notion of citizenship in a global community.

Finally, chapter 10 will address the place of prayer in political life.

In consultation with IVP, we have set a due date for the manuscript at 31 December, which gives me not quite a year in which to write it. I have completed first drafts of the introduction and the first two chapters with substantial material written for the fourth.

Please pray for me as I work steadily on this project in the coming months. Pray for clarity of thought and expression and that God will use the end result to advance his kingdom, if even in a small way. Thank you so much!