scholarly journals Jacques Maritain and the Political Theology of Contemporary Democracy

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-72
Author(s):  
Jerónimo Molina-Cano
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Theology ◽  
Social Democracy ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
The Political ◽  
Spiritual Power ◽  
Jacques Maritain ◽  
Political Religion ◽  
Political Work

This article analyzes the democratic thought of the philosopher Jacques Maritain. A methodical reading of the integrity of his political work published since the 20s demonstrates a great continuity in the defense of a univocal concept of democratic governance, called social democracy, new Christianity, integral democracy or organic democracy in order to accommodate his thought to the political circumstances. Starting from the principle of superiority of spiritual power, Maritain has redefined the notion of democracy in an anti-rousseaunian sense. Maritain postulates a community and pluralist regime under a presidential government and non partitocratic political system. Maritainian democracy and the secular faith that must animate it, based on human rights, is conceived as an antidote against liberal neutralism and against the totalitarian temptation of a democracy understood as a political religion.

The Political Psychology of Religion in Plato's Laws

1976 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 1059-1077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas L. Pangle
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Theology ◽  
Civil Religion ◽  
Psychological Needs ◽  
The Political ◽  
Science And Society ◽  
Political Religion ◽  
The City

This paper explains Plato's conception of the relation between politics and “political religion” (ideology) in a nonliberal participatory republican system. The discussion is in the form of a commentary on the drama of a part of Plato's Laws. The underlying methodological assumption is that Plato presented his political teaching not so much through the speeches as through the drama of the dialogue, and that he held this to be the most appropriate form for political science because in this way political science can most effectively stimulate thought about its subject matter, the psyche involved in social action.Following Plato, we focus first on the psychological needs such a political system generates and attempts to satisfy through civil religion. We then move to a consideration of how political “theology” serves to mediate between science and society, or the philosopher and the city.The essay is intended to contribute to the Montesquieuian project engaging the attention of more and more political theorists: the endeavor to help contemporary political science and psychology escape from the trammeling parochialism of exclusive attention to twentieth century theoretical categories and empirical experiences.

Leadership, Equality & Democracy

Daedalus ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 145 (3) ◽  
pp. 8-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nannerl O. Keohane
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
The United States ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Institutional Constraints ◽  
The Political ◽  
Abuse Of Power ◽  
Key Terms ◽  
The Relationship

The goal of this essay is to clarify the relationship between leadership and equality as two essential constitutive factors of a democratic political system. The essay is motivated by concern about increasing inequalities in the political system of the United States and other countries that describe themselves as democracies. The first section notes the logical tension between leadership and equality, and spells out my understanding of the key terms I use in this essay. I show how the tension between leadership and equality poses a conundrum for democratic governance. Yet the crux of my argument is that profound socioeconomic inequalities pose the more basic threat. I identify disparities in power, as distinct from leadership, as the root of the problem here. Leadership and power are often conflated. Eliding the differences between the two impedes our understanding of the dilemmas we face. The classical answer to concerns about the abuse of power is to establish institutional constraints on political leadership. Yet good leadership is essential in solving the problems we confront. Because leaders can take significant steps to reduce inequality, leadership and equality are not always in tension. If we are to emerge from our current malaise, we must recognize and draw upon the positive contributions of leadership to efficacious democratic governance.

scholarly journals Hadis Khilâfah dan Relasinya terhadap Kontestasi Politik Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) Pasca-Perpu Nomor 2 Tahun 2017

MUTAWATIR ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Muhammad Rikza Muqtada
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Political System ◽  
The Political ◽  
Religious Texts

After the dissolution of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, sympathizers of HTI tried to appeal in various ways. One of them is to build the opinions through the dakwah media of HTI about the authenticity of al-Khilâfah al-Islâmîyah sources in the religious narratives. This propaganda means that the political system fought for by HTI is a part of the Islamic Shari‘a which have to be defended, rejecting it means kufr. However, the legality of khilâfah’s source is problematic. The Qur’an does not mention it, while the hadith that mentions the khilâfah is more problematic. The hadith of khilâfah only narrated by Ah}mad b. H{anbal on his book. This Ḥadîth arises due to the attitude of Ḥabîb b. Salîm who looked for face in front of ‘Umar b. Abd al-‘Azîz as the khalifah claimed by ‘alâ minhâj al-nubuwwah. The triumph at that time was dreamed by HTI to be re-realized. To realize that vision, HTI interprets the religious texts to the political platform that means has mixed religious functions and political functions become one.

scholarly journals “Soft” Power of China: Efficiency and Response to the Current Challenges

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 22-27
Author(s):  
Lesia Dorosh ◽  
◽  
Myroslava Yablonska ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Political System ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
The Political ◽  
Military Power ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Hard Power

The features of the “soft” power of the PRC, which are significantly based on its indicators of "hard" power – economic and military power, – have been studied. It is noted that there is a difference in the assessment of the state of “soft” power of China by Western countries and, accordingly, by China itself. Emphasis was placed on the prospects for the embodiment of China’s cultural “soft” power and its obstacles. Vulnerabilities in China’s “soft” power have been explored, including the political system and civil society. The importance of the tools of "mask" and "vaccine" diplomacy in the arsenal of "soft" power of China used to minimize the negative effects of the pandemic on China’s image and elevate its status as a leader in global health, have been analyzed. The effectiveness of the Chinese “soft” power has been analyzed through the studies conducted by the “Pew Research Centre” and “Portland Communication” agency. The importance of economic “soft” power in China’s conquest of new allies, including Asia and Africa, has been noted. It is emphasized that the most successful “soft” power is among countries where China is not burdened with accusations of human rights violations. It is noted that one of the main problems in China’s implementation of “soft” power policy is the dissonance between the image that China seeks to project and the country’s actions.

Hermann Cohen and Socialist Democracy

Living Law ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 35-80
Author(s):  
Miguel Vatter
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Political Theology ◽  
Jewish People ◽  
State Sovereignty ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Problem ◽  
Minority Nationality ◽  
Hermann Cohen

This chapter is dedicated to Hermann Cohen’s renewal of Jewish theologico-political thought. Cohen is the first to establish an internal, systematic connection between the Jewish messianic idea and a universalistic conception of democracy. He articulates a political theology of socialist democracy, not based on the analogy between One God and One King, but on that between One God and One Humanity. Cohen rejected Zionism as a solution to the political problem caused by the condition of minority nationality in which the Jewish people lived in European states. But he did not believe in assimilation either. He maintained that its messianic religion assigned the Jewish people the task of pointing the way to an international order based not on state sovereignty but on the supremacy of international law founded on human rights that recognized the plurality and right to self-determination of nationalities.

Jacques Maritain and Human Rights

2020 ◽  
pp. 97-132
Author(s):  
Miguel Vatter
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Political Theology ◽  
Human Person ◽  
State Sovereignty ◽  
Philosophical Foundation ◽  
Jacques Maritain ◽  
Anti Semitism ◽  
Universal Human Rights

This chapter discusses the connection between Christian political theology and human rights in the thought of Jacques Maritain. It argues that Maritain understood universal human rights as part and parcel of a new ‘democratic’ Christian political theology centred on the struggle between multitude and empire and on the rejection of state sovereignty. The chapter shows that Maritain’s philosophical foundation of the universality of human rights is not based on a ‘metaphysics’ of the human person as much as it offers a biopolitical account of rights and adopts ideas of governmentality that parallel emerging neoliberal critiques of sovereignty. It ends with a discussion of Maritain’s turn to human rights in the context of his own struggle with anti-Semitism and establishes a comparison with Alain Badiou’s adoption of Paul’s political theology as the foundational discourse of egalitarian universalism.

The Dynamics of Coercion in the Malaysian Political Process

1985 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 797-822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Barraclough
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Democratic Values ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Direct Bearing ◽  
Control And Management

The study of coercion and how it is applied within a political system is useful for a number of reasons. As a strategy of control and management it is in itself worthy of investigation. Moreover, an examination of how coercion is applied can tell us much about the nature of a particular polity. Indeed, as Weber emphasized, the state itself is distinguished from other political systems to the extent that it successfully upholds the claim to the legitimate application of force. The willingness of a regime to use coercion against opponents or dissidents, or to regulate the political participation of the ordinary citizenry, has a direct bearing upon such questions as human rights, democratic values, authoritarianism, and the degree of consensus within a given polity.

scholarly journals Arendt’s Political Theology—From Political Religion to Profanation

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 111-131
Author(s):  
Bulent Diken ◽  
Carsten Bagge Laustsen ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Theology ◽  
Human Freedom ◽  
Political Community ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Religion ◽  
Politics And Religion ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Voluntary Servitude

The article elaborates on Arendt’s take on the religious and the political and on how they interact and merge in modernity, especially in totalitarianism. We start with framing the three different understandings of religion in Arendt: first, a classic understanding of religion, which is foreign to the logic of the political; second, a secularized political religion; and third, a weak messianism. Both the classic understanding of religion and the political religion deny human freedom in Arendt’s sense. Her transcendent alternative to them both is the notion of the democratic political community: the Republic. Then we turn to Arendt’s political theology, illuminating why interrogating Nazism is central to examine the relationship between politics and religion in modernity. This is followed by a discussion of Nazism as a type of political religion. We focus here on totalitarianism, both as an idea and actual institution. We conclude with an assessment of the role of profanation in Arendt’s work and its significance vis-à-vis the contemporary ‘return of religion’ as well as totalitarian tendencies which call for new forms of voluntary servitude.

scholarly journals Study on Human Rights Principles in The Medina Charter and its Implementation In Indonesia

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 52-64
Author(s):  
Muannif Ridwan ◽  
Hasbi Umar ◽  
Hermanto Harun
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Political System ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Right To Life ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
World Community ◽  
Principles Of Justice ◽  
Good And Evil

The principles of Human Rights are the goals of Islamic shari'a or maqashid al-shari'ah (the philosophy of Islamic law) which has been formulated by al-Ghazali and perfected by as-Syatibi. These principles are summarized in al-dlaruriyah al-khamsah or also called al-huquq al-insaniyah fi al-Islam (human rights in Islam). This concept consists of five basic principles that must be maintained and respected by every individual; Hifzhu al-Din (respect for religious freedom), Hifzhu al-Mal (respect for property), Hifzhu al-Nafs wa al-'Irdl (respect for life, right to life and individual honor), Hifzhu al-'Aql (respect for freedom of thought), and Hifzhu al-Nasl (respect for keeping offspring).This research is examined using a juridical-normative and socio-legal and historical approach. The principles of human rights in the Medina Charter consist of: the principles of justice, equality, freedom of religion, piety, and commanding good and evil. Iimplementation of human rights values ​​in The Medina Charter in Indonesia, the author summarizes it into three areas of life; religion, nation and state consisting of:the field of religious harmony, the field of law and constitution enforcement and the field of socio-political life and the development of the political system. Among the authors' findings, the Medina Charter contains ideas that have strong relevance to the developments and desires of today's world community, especially for Indonesia. The ideas in the Medina Constitution were also absorbed by the founding figures of the Indonesian nation, which can be seen in the Jakarta Charter which later gave birth to Pancasila. The contents of the Medina Charter and Pancasila have in common as a sentence of sawa'  (meeting point) diversity or a noble agreement that is constructive, loves, and defends Indonesia, as well as the Medina Charter.

23. Conclusion

2021 ◽  
pp. 649-660
Author(s):  
Ian Loveland
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Political System ◽  
Constitutional Reform ◽  
European Convention ◽  
The Political ◽  
Simple Majority ◽  
Amsterdam Treaty ◽  
System P ◽  
Fundamental Freedoms

This chapter addresses the question of whether it is legally possible to entrench legislation in a way that safeguards it from repeal by the traditional ‘simple majority in Commons and Lords plus Royal Assent’ formula; and, if so, under what political circumstances it might legitimately be employed. It argues that the Blair government’s commitment to establishing a pluralist political culture is head and shoulders above any of their twentieth-century predecessors. This is most evident in its devolution legislation as well as in its embrace of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the provisions of the Amsterdam Treaty. The same observation may be made about the Blair government’s promotion of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. Yet these initiatives, desirable though they may be, can hardly be seen as engineering a constituent reformation of the political system.

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