Annual of European and Global Studies Editors: Ireneusz Pawel Karolewski, Johann P. Arnason and Peter Wagner An annual collection of the best research on European and global themes, the Annual of European and Global Studies publishes issues with a specific focus, each addressing critical developments and controversies in the field. This topical first volume deals with the relationship between religion and politics as a key connecting link between European and global affairs. It discusses the role of religion and its prospects in the contemporary world against the background of theoretical and empirical research. The debates on religion and politics have to a high degree focused on contrasts between Europe and other parts of the world; the long-established assumption that modern societies are on a secularising path seems to have a stronger claim to validity in Europe than elsewhere. The book shows, however, that if European modernity represents an exit from religion, this historical process and its implications are still very imperfectly understood. On the one hand, the volume discusses growing Islamic presence in Europe as a reminder of enduring religious pluralism, not least in view of the high prominence given to Islamic experience in arguments against over-generalised notions of secularisation. On the other hand, the question of Christian-motivated extremism and religious nationalism is equally explored. Against this background, contributors to the volume discuss also the role of religion in non-European countries including China, Japan, Russia and the MENA region. Johann P. Arnason is emeritus professor of sociology at La Trobe University, Melbourne, and visiting professor at the Faculty of Human Studies, Charles University, Prague. He is the co-editor of The Greek Polis and the Invention of Democracy (2013). Ireneusz Pawel Karolewski is professor and Chair of Political Science at the Willy Brandt Centre for German and European Studies, University of Wroclaw. He is the co-editor of Civic Resources and the Future of the European Union (2012). [WBC logo] Cover image: (c) manley099/iStockphoto.com Cover design: [EUP logo] www.euppublishing.com