Calvin: Militant or Man of Peace?

2003 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Pellerin
Keyword(s):  
Political Authority ◽  
The State ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Common Misconceptions

The charge that the Reformation heralded a triumph of confessional party over religion and fostered a spirit of division, discord, and strife is not an unfamiliar one. The thought of Jean Calvin, in particular, has been found responsible, by Karl Barth among others, for rousing its followers to militancy. As this essay will show, however, Calvin's actual positions point in a rather more irenic direction. Thus the first section of the essay addresses common misconceptions about the role of military metaphor in Calvin's writings. Section II draws attention to the integral importance for Calvin's theology of the Gospel call to unity, concord, and peace not only among Christians but all mankind. Section III examines Calvin's cautious treatment of actual fighting and war, and section IV draws together the argument by reference to Calvin's discussion of political authority and the tasks of the state.

The Political Theory of the Disruption

1916 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 437-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold J. Laski
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Secular Society ◽  
The One ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Political Principles ◽  
The Church

“Of political principles,” says a distinguished authority, “whether they be those of order or of freedom, we must seek in religious and quasi-theological writings for the highest and most notable expressions.” No one, in truth, will deny the accuracy of this claim for those ages before the Reformation transferred the centre of political authority from church to state. What is too rarely realised is the modernism of those writings in all save form. Just as the medieval state had to fight hard for relief from ecclesiastical trammels, so does its modern exclusiveness throw the burden of a kindred struggle upon its erstwhile rival. The church, intelligibly enough, is compelled to seek the protection of its liberties lest it become no more than the religious department of an otherwise secular society. The main problem, in fact, for the political theorist is still that which lies at the root of medieval conflict. What is the definition of sovereignty? Shall the nature and personality of those groups of which the state is so formidably one be regarded as in its gift to define? Can the state tolerate alongside itself churches which avow themselves societates perfectae, claiming exemption from its jurisdiction even when, as often enough, they traverse the field over which it ploughs? Is the state but one of many, or are those many but parts of itself, the one?

scholarly journals Ideology and Pragmatism: Discourse Factors in Infrastructure Development in Indonesia’s Jokowi-JK Era

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 297
Author(s):  
Fredick Broven Ekayanta
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
Development Discourse ◽  
Dominant Discourse ◽  
Ernesto Laclau ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
The Government

The discussion about development discourse in a country talking about how an idea affect economic policies. In Indonesia, the development discourse continues to change depending on the ruling regime. After the reformation, the dominant discourse is a neoliberal one that minimizes the role of the state in development. During the reign of Jokowi-JK, however, the role of the state strengthened. The government plans to build a massive infrastructure of the physical economy. The government legitimized its choice of action as the implementation of the Pancasila and Trisakti ideologies. Using the theories of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, this article argues that the state legitimizes its policies as implementing ideology by building infrastructure development discourse, but covers only pragmatic practices that occur. The practices themselves are pragmatic because the government ignored the fate and rights of citizens affected by infrastructure development.

Liberalism and Security

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Owen IV
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International System ◽  
The State ◽  
Democratic Peace ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
International Interaction ◽  
The Individual

Liberalism has always been concerned with security, albeit the security of the individual; institutions, including the state, are all established and sustained by individuals and instrumental to their desires. Indeed, liberalism cannot be understood apart from its normative commitment to individualism. The tradition insists that all persons deserve, and it evaluates institutions according to how far they help individuals achieve these goals. Nor is liberalism anti-statist. Liberal theory has paid particular attention to the state as the institution defined by its ability to make individuals secure and aid their commodious living. Although liberal security literature that only examines individual states’ foreign policies may be guilty of denouncing the role of international interaction, the general liberal claim argues that the international system, under broad conditions, permits states choices. As such, for liberalism, states can choose over time to create and sustain international conditions under which they will be more or less secure. Liberalism’s history can be traced from the proto-liberalism in the Reformation to the emergence of the social contract theory and neo-theories, as well as liberalism’s focus on increasing security. Meanwhile, current debates in liberalism include the democratic peace and its progeny, reformulations of liberal international relations (IR) theory, and meta-theory. Ultimately, liberalism’s most striking recent successes concern the democratic peace and related research on democratic advantages in international cooperation. Liberalism is a useful guide to international security insofar as individuals and the groups they organize affect or erode states.

Marginal Governance in the Time of Pemekaran: Case Studies from Sulawesi and West Papua

2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew McWilliam
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Political Reform ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
The State ◽  
Local Experience ◽  
West Papua

AbstractOne of the outcomes of the radical decentralisation policies accompanying political reform and democratisation in Indonesia is a sustained administrative programme known by the term pemekaran, or a ‘blossoming’ of new administrative and budgetary units that extend to the farthest corners of the nation. This paper explores aspects and impacts of the pemekaran process as it unfolds in two remote corners of Indonesia, namely the sub-district of Routa in Konawe Regency of Southeast Sulawesi and the newly-established district of Bintuni in the swamp lands of Bintuni Gulf, West Papua. In both regions the strategic possibilities that accompany pemekaran have fostered a vibrant local politic based around appeals to established patterns of landed authority. But the logic of pemekaran can lead to fragmentation and confusion over jurisdictional authority. Critics argue that the process dilutes capacity and political authority. Supporters acknowledge the limits but applaud the extension of development funding into areas which otherwise would remain isolated and impoverished. The paper explores some of the dimensions of this debate and the role of pemekaran in shaping local experience on the margins of the state.

Can Political Authority be Founded on a Ruse? Derrida and Lefort on Machiavelli’s Use of Political Deception

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peg Birmingham
Keyword(s):  
Political Authority ◽  
The State ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
State Of Nature ◽  
The People ◽  
Theological Foundation ◽  
The Law

The institution of Hobbes’ Leviathan is marked by the transformation of cunning, equally shared by all in the state of nature, into a rational, sovereign politics. The question I take up here by way of Machiavelli and two of his contemporary readers, Derrida and Lefort, what if cunning was politicized rather than replaced by sovereign reason? In other words, what if cunning, a complex political deception, was not abandoned or given over to the sovereign? I argue that Lefort’s reading of Machiavelli, embracing as it does the central role of a shared cunning or ruse between the people and the prince, offers valuable resources for thinking the foundation of political authority for a secular democratic politics, while in contrast, Derrida’s critique of Machiavelli’s cunning illuminates why he is not able to escape a sovereign, theological foundation for political authority and the law.

scholarly journals Peran Sosial Gereja Menurut Barth dan Moltmann [The Social Role of the Church according to Barth and Moltmann]

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
Edy J. P. Gurning
Keyword(s):  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Social Roles ◽  
Social Role ◽  
The State ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
The Social ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Church

The ideology of the nation Indonesian is Pancasila. Within this ideology Pancasila, the state ensures religious freedom practices and provides space for religion to play a role in carrying out justice and peace in society. Particularly in the post-secular era, the role of religion becomes more significant. Post-secularism provides an active not passive and greater role for religion in presenting its social role. Christianity, as one of the religions in Indonesia, is also urged to participate in playing its social roles. Based on the characteristic Indonesian context, the social role of the church initiated by Karl Barth is far better to be employed in Indonesia than the social role of the church initiated by Jurgen Moltmann.

scholarly journals The Rise of Jihad in the Pakhtun Region: The Role of Culture

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-119
Author(s):  
Abdul Shakoor
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
The State ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
The Creation ◽  
State Actors

Using secondary data, the study is an attempt to analyze the rise of jihad in the Pakhtun region. The objective is to investigate the transformation of jihad and the role of Pakhtun culture in the process. The study provides a thorough analysis of the historical background of Jihadi activities in the region, the role of religious figures, the establishment and role of the Darul Uloom Deoband before the creation of Pakistan, and the Afghan jihad and its aftermath after the creation of Pakistan. The study concludes that the concept of jihad has been manipulated historically by non-state actors to gain political authority and lately by the state actors themselves for the achievement of certain foreign policy goals. The study further concludes that although much of this process of jihad has historically been pronounced on the Pakhtun land, however, it is important to note that it is not culturally driven.

A Re-Appraisal of the Role of Blood Coagulation and Platelets in the Generalized Shwartzman Phenomenon

1966 ◽  
Vol 15 (03/04) ◽  
pp. 519-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Levin ◽  
E Beck
Keyword(s):  
Blood Coagulation ◽  
The State ◽  
Coagulation System ◽  
Renal Lesions ◽  
Intravascular Coagulation ◽  
Renal Glomeruli ◽  
Coagulation Mechanism ◽  
Shwartzman Phenomenon ◽  
Do So

SummaryThe role of intravascular coagulation in the production of the generalized Shwartzman phenomenon has been evaluated. The administration of endotoxin to animals prepared with Thorotrast results in activation of the coagulation mechanism with the resultant deposition of fibrinoid material in the renal glomeruli. Anticoagulation prevents alterations in the state of the coagulation system and inhibits development of the renal lesions. Platelets are not primarily involved. Platelet antiserum produces similar lesions in animals prepared with Thorotrast, but appears to do so in a manner which does not significantly involve intravascular coagulation.The production of adrenal cortical hemorrhage, comparable to that seen in the Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome, following the administration of endotoxin to animals that had previously received ACTH does not require intravascular coagulation and may not be a manifestation of the generalized Shwartzman phenomenon.

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