The Art of the (Im)possible: Ethical Limits and Christian “Kenotic” Inspirations for Diplomacy

The aim of this article is to challenge an ideologically overestimated view of diplomacy as a universal self-sustaining value and remedy for unpredictably chained and escalated conflicts in the world. The article shows the necessary connection between diplomacy and the fragility of human ethical decision-making, including in the areas of strategy, international politics, and military defense. This more modest approach also applies to proposals for diplomacy built on direct or indirect religious inspirations. The article calls for a nuanced critical approach to religious diplomacy and the positive transformation of the limits of human rational negotiation by the paradoxical "power of the powerless" and transcendental mystery. The final part provides three biblically-inspired Christian opportunities for this transformation: endurance of faith, voluntary self-denial (kenosis), and the complex "two level"—both protective and eschatological—pursuit of peace.