How to better understand a nation-state unlike any other! "Découvrir et comprendre": a collection headed by Pascal Boniface.

The Holy See is among those small, neutral states asymmetrical in their relations with other nations. However, it protects its interests, notably by using resources supplied by multilateral forums and its neutrality. It is a mistake to think that the Holy See does not involve itself in politics due to its neutrality; the relations it maintains with Russia, for instance, prove quite the opposite. This work adopts an unprecedented approach toward disentangling the unique ways, inextricably religious and political, that Vatican City makes its presence felt as a player on the international stage, for its actions are at once federal and civil (Catholic NGOs, congregations).