Book Reviews : Religion and Politics. Edited by PETER M. ODEGARD. (New York: Oceana Pub lications, Inc. 1960. Pp. 219. $5.00 cloth, $1.85 paper.)

• Date: 01 December 1961
• DOI: 10.1177/106591296101400435
• Published date: 01 December 1961
• Subject Matter: Articles

989

passage

through

the

Canal,

whose

extent

and

legal

consequences,

have

not

always

been

really

understood.

Obieta

expresses

the

view

that

the

Concession

of

1856,

seen

in

its

diplomatic

context,

was

a

unilateral

declaration

which,

through

acceptance

by

the

inter-

national

community,

imposed

on

Egypt

and

its

successor,

the

United

Arab

Re-

public,

a

duty

to

afford

free

passage

to

the

merchant

ships

of

all

nations

in

time

of

peace.

A

corresponding

right

to

freedom

of

passage

for

warships

he

finds

only

in

the

terms

of

the

Convention

of

Constantinople

(1888)

and

then

only

as

to

the

warships

of

parties

to

the

treaty,

since

other

nations

neglected

to

adhere

to

the

Convention.

Obieta’s

findings

are

based

upon

a

careful

examination

of

the

diplomatic

history

of

the

Suez

Canal

and

are

judiciously

related

to

the

general

fabric

of

international

law.

His

conclusions

represent

a

departure

from

the

commonly

held

view

that the

rights

and

duties

of

all

nations

find

their

origin

and

their

measure

in

the

Convention

of

1888.

He

identifies

the

Egyptian

Declaration

of

1957

as

being,

at

least

tentatively

and

temporarily,

the

current

source

of

the

right

of free

passage.

In

regard

to

the

defensive

rights

of

the

territorial

sovereign

(the

practice

of

states,

and

more

particularly

that

of

Great

Britain

and

of

Egypt

as

acquiesced

in

by

others)

he

propounds

that

it

has

given

recognition

to

the

right

of

the

United

Arab

Republic

to

limit

passage

or

to

close

the

Canal

in

time

of

war,

even

as

against

signatories

to

the

Convention

of

Constantinople.

These

conclusions

are

bound

to

create

some

exciting

controversies.

At

any

rate,

Obieta

has

presented

a

good

case,

supported

by

an

excellent

bibliography.

University

of

Bridgeport

JOSEPH

S.

ROUCEK

Religion

and

Politics.

Edited

by

PETER

M.

ODEGARD.

(New

York:

Oceana

Pub-

lications,

Inc.

1960.

Pp.

219.

$5.00

cloth,

$1.85

paper.)

This

volume,

the

first

of

a

series

on

America’s

politics

under

the

general

editorship

of

Paul

Tillett,

was

published

for

the

Eagleton

Institute

of

Politics

at

Rutgers,

the

State

University.

Its

publication

on

the

eve

of

the

1960

national

party

conventions

was

well-timed.

Although

the

title

implies

that

the

book

deals

with

what,

indeed,

is

a

broad

subject,

its

editor,

Professor

Odegard,

has

in

the

main

confined

it

to

the

issue

of

the

place

of

the

Roman

Catholic

Church

and

its

membership

in

American

politics.

His

stated

purpose

is

to

present

some

aspects

of

the

debate

of

religious

issues

as

they

affect

the

great

presidential

campaigns.

The

collection

of

writings

selected

for

this

anthology

range

widely

over

the

topic.

After

presenting

a

series

of

statements

on

the

foundations

of

religious

freedom

in

America

by

figures

such

as

Jefferson

and

Madison,

Professor

Odegard

has

chosen

most

of

the

remainder

of

his

selections

from

recent

or

contemporary

writers.

Some

selections,

notably

that

of

Hiram

W.

Evans,

once

Imperial

Wizard

and

Emperor,

Knights

of

the

Ku

Klux

Klan,

present

statements

of

anti-Catholic

prejudice

in

extreme

form.

Most,

however,

reflect

a

scholarly

or

journalistic

detachment

in

dealing

with

the

question.

Of

eighteen

contributors

listed

at

the