Dr Scott M Thomas

Dr Scott Thomas is a Research Associate of the Las Casas Institute, a Research Associate at the Institute of European Studies and Human Rights, Pontifical University of Salamanca, Spain, and a contributing editor of The Review of Faith & International Affairs.  His current research focuses on the ‘theological turn’ in international relations. This is the recovery of the theology underlying the main theories and paradigms of international relations, which includes the relevance of St Francis, Pope Francis, and the Catholic tradition for interreligious dialogue and international relations.

Dr Thomas was Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) of International Relations at the University of Bath (1995-2025), and an active research fellow at the Centre for Christianity and Interreligious Dialogue, Heythrop College, University of London (2008-2018).

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

‘Louis Massignon, Francis of Assisi, the Franciscan Tradition, Muslim-Christian Relations, and Interreligious Dialogue in International Relations’, in Anthony O’Mahony (ed.), Louis Massignon: Catholic Engagement with Islam and the Muslim World (London: Routledge, forthcoming); ‘The Political Geometry of the Culture of Encounter’, in Mario Torres Jarrín, Pontifical University of Salamanca (ed.) Religion and Foreign Affairs: Interreligious dialogue, diplomacy and peace-building (Peter Lang, 2025), 43-58; ‘Pope Francis’ Strategic Vision of Human Fraternity: The Culture of Encounter from Argentina to Abu Dhabi and Iraq’, in Fabio Petito, Fadi Daou, and Michael D. Driessen, Human Fraternity & Inclusive Citizenship: Interreligious Engagement in the Mediterranean (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2021); The Global Resurgence of Religion and the Transformation of International Relations, Foreword by Archbishop Desmond Tutu (2005); The Diplomacy of Liberation: The Foreign Relations of the ANC Since 1960 (1996); Also publications in Foreign Affairs, International Affairs, Millennium (LSE’s journal of international studies), and The Tablet.

Email: hsssmt@bath.ac.uk