Covenant and International Relations in the Ancient Near East: A Preliminary Exploration
Freire, Lucas G.
Date: 1 January 2013
Journal
Antiguo Oriente
Publisher
CEHAO
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Abstract
To a great extent, ancient Near Eastern international relations operated within
covenantal frameworks. In light of renewed interest in world history and the Near
East in the discipline of International Relations, this article provides a preliminary
exploration of the important practice of covenanting as an alternative account of ...
To a great extent, ancient Near Eastern international relations operated within
covenantal frameworks. In light of renewed interest in world history and the Near
East in the discipline of International Relations, this article provides a preliminary
exploration of the important practice of covenanting as an alternative account of balance-
of-power dynamics. The notion, structure and diffusion of the covenant as a
common practice have been discussed to great detail in other disciplines, such as, for
example, Old Testament Studies. Dialogue with these studies will be pursued, but
covenanting is here addressed also in some of its primary sources in light of the
English School approach. As it turns out, the practice accounts for a number of peculiarities
in alliance formation of the period. The preliminary findings are contrasted
with alternative IR accounts of ancient Near Eastern power-balancing.
Social and Political Sciences, Philosophy, and Anthropology
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
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