Quaker Ways in Foreign Policy (review)

Book Reviews Quaker Ways in Foreign Policy. By Robert O. Byrd. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. I960, xxi, 230 pages. $5.00. Robert O. Byrd, a Friend, now the Chairman of the Department of Political Science at North Park College in Chicago, has in this little book undertaken a very formidable assignment. He attempts not only to set forth those elements of Quaker belief which shape the Society's approaches in international affairs, but also to chart the general developments in the approach of Friends in these matters throughout the 300 years of Quaker history. His success in both of these undertakings is sufficient to make his study well worth reading. The book is perhaps most useful as a general interpretation and as an historical study. There is much in the presentation which is relevant to the "awesome dilemmas" we face in the nuclear age. While the author does not bring us down into the center of that problem, the analysis should be of help to all of us in assessing the strength of our religious tradition. It provides a useful perspective on Quaker efforts (some successful — many unsuccessful) to influence the course of history. Dr. Hans Morgenthau of the University of Chicago in his introduction clearly sets forth the problem. He suggests, perhaps over-generously, that "In their convictions, achievements, and sufferings, the Quakers bear witness to the teachings of Christianity." He goes on to say that "in their failures they bear witness to the insuperable stubbornness of the human condition." He points out that if the "unbridgable gap between the demands of Christian ethics and human nature did not exist ... the grace of God would have no object for its work and would have no organic place in the theological system." There are many times, in the midst of both successes and failures, when we could wish that spiritual grace had a larger place in Quaker thought! Dr. Byrd's book is presented in three parts. In the first he sets forth the essentials of Quaker belief which he feels have special bearing upon the development of our concerns in the field of international affairs. Perhaps here the author also is over-generous in equating the ideal with the actual. In the second part he takes up several of the Quaker convictions which appear to shape the approaches to governments. He points out the problems posed to Friends by the ultimate need for some form of coercive force under the control of international organization. He rightly suggests that this problem would be more manageable under a system of world law. 119 120Bulletin of Friends Historical Association He reminds us that "George Fox would not disarm William Penn until Penn could live in confidence without his sword at his side." In the last section Dr. Byrd traces the history of principal Quaker international initiatives over the past 300 years. He points especially to the sustained effort which Friends have made since the close of World War II to bring their deepest convictions to bear in a setting in which we are facing a major breakdown in national and international security systems. While there may in this section not be a great deal that has not been presented in article or book form, and in this manner is known to Quaker historians, there is much that will be of fresh interest to the average reader. It would be useful sometime for this general review to be brought down to date, covering the co-operative development of Quaker work, between British and American Friends and the Friends World Committee, at UN headquarters in New York, with UNESCO in Paris, and at UN's European headquarters in Geneva. Friends organizations are not always at their best when they attempt to formulate specific remedies for national and international ills. The book suggests, however, that there is a moral power which Friends seek, and which they sometimes achieve, and there is frequently a deep personal concern relevant to the problems of the day which, taken together and in humility, can justifiably give us courage — even though we know that most of our efforts are unlikely to meet with immediate success. Quaker Program at the...