Last Thursday, U.K. Prime Minister called for a snap election, meaning Britain will vote on July 4.
While the United States is celebrating Independence Day, the U.K. public will be liberating themselves comprehensively, judging by current polls, from an unpopular Conservative government.
The activities of ongoing governance and political campaigning will be uncomfortably interwoven in the coming weeks. With elections in the U.K.
and the U.S. later in the year, international religious freedom (IRF) policy warrants both the urgent attention of current administrations along with the earnest deliberation of manifesto-drafters and transition teams.
Both the United States and the United Kingdom face the prospect of governments changing hands. Change means uncertainty, but in the current climate it must also represent an opportunity for political and social vision for revitalization. Amid the continued polarization of domestic politics and alarming chaos and disorder of global affairs, it is urgent that incoming Western governments articulate hope and optimism, unity and peace.
This might sound idealistic in the modern political context, but in the interest of stability at home and abroad, these ideals must infuse leadership and triumph over cynicism and divisiveness. Seriously formulated IRF policy has the potential to enjoy broad support and to contribute to a peace and stability that's so desperately lacking. Some might be surprised by this proposition, either because it is seen .