The Heavens are High and the Emperor is Near: An Imperial Power System that is Open to the People

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-145
Author(s):  
Lei Ge

Abstract When we say that “the Emperor is near,” we are referring not to his nearness to the officials below him but rather to the people. It has always been an indispensable element of the emperor’s authority that he is able to establish a clear relationship with the populace and allow them to directly feel his presence in their everyday lives—both materially and morally—and even more importantly, feel the emperor’s concern for the people on a regular basis. Fostering the people’s sense of coexistence with the emperor is essential to solidifying the emperor’s position and maintaining the emperor’s almost holy image. The development of the imperial power structure through the Qin and Han Dynasties can thus be seen as the continuous development of the relationship between the emperor and his subjects. The main agents in the imperial society can be defined as the emperor, his officials, and the people; it can not be limited simply to the political dynamics between the emperor and the officials. Through his autocratic rule, the emperor has the ability to build a personal, transcendent connection with the people. Imperial rule is by definition autocratic, but the entire imperial power structure necessarily includes the people and his personal relationship with them. By citing multiple historical examples, we can begin to see how the emperors established such personal relationships with the people and why they were important to his rule.

Dialog ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-64
Author(s):  
Suryani Suryani

This paper illustrates how the political dynamics of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) as a part of civil society in Indonesia in the national political constellation. NU is a concrete example of the people power in the form of civil society whose existence should be noted. As the largest Muslim community in Indonesia, NU was recorded as the entity who contacted and reinforced the concept of civil society in Indonesia earlier than other Muslim modernist communities. NU activists and intellectuals play an earlier role in developing the discourse of civil society since the independence to now compared to Muhammadiyah, HMI alumni, or other Muslim leaders alumni from Masyumi.


Author(s):  
Christian P. Haines

This chapter examines the relationship between politics and philosophy in Walt Whitman’s 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass. It focuses on Whitman’s articulation of two different concepts of democracy: a vitalist version, based on the organic life of the nation, and a revolutionary version, based on transforming the political culture of the people for the sake of fulfilling the American Revolution. The chapter traces Whitman’s reception as a Spinozist (an inheritor of the radical philosophy of Baruch Spinoza), a pantheist, and a monist. It argues that this philosophical legacy enables Whitman to reimagine the nation as the common property of the people and to reconceive of national belonging in terms other than citizenship. The chapter pays particular attention to Whitman’s commitments to labor politics and the abolition of slavery.


2020 ◽  
pp. 79-96
Author(s):  
Leila Brännström

In recent years the Sweden Democrats have championed a clarification of the identity of the ‘the people’ in the Instrument of government. The reference, they argue, should be to the ethnic group of Swedes. This chapter will take this ambition to fix the subject of popular sovereignty as the point of departure for discussing some of the ways in which the contemporary anti-foreigner political forces of Northern and Western Europe imagine ‘the people’ and identify their allies and enemies within and beyond state borders. To set the stage for this exploration the chapter will start by looking at Carl Schmitt’s ideas about political friendship, and more specifically the way he imagines the relationship between ‘us’ in a political and constitutional sense and ‘the people’ in national and ethnoracial terms. The choice to begin with Schmitt is not arbitrary. His thoughts about the nature of the political association have found their way into the discourse of many radical right-wing parties of Western and Northern Europe.


Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 79
Author(s):  
Sharon Y. Small

Wu 無 is one of the most prominent terms in Ancient Daoist philosophy, and perhaps the only term to appear more than Dao in both the Laozi and the Zhuangzi. However, unlike Dao, wu is generally used as an adjective modifying or describing nouns such as “names”, “desires”, “knowledge”, “action”, and so forth. Whereas Dao serves as the utmost principle in both generation and practice, wu becomes one of the central methods to achieve or emulate this ideal. As a term of negation, wu usually indicates the absence of something, as seen in its relation to the term you 有—”to have” or “presence”. From the perspective of generative processes, wu functions as an undefined and undifferentiated cosmic situation from which no beginning can begin but everything can emerge. In the political aspect, wu defines, or rather un-defines the actions (non-coercive action, wuwei 無為) that the utmost authority exerts to allow the utmost simplicity and “authenticity” (the zi 自 constructions) of the people. In this paper, I suggest an understanding of wu as a philosophical framework that places Pre-Qin Daoist thought as a system that both promotes our understanding of the way the world works and offers solutions to particular problems. Wu then is simultaneously metaphysical and concrete, general, and particular. It is what allows the world, the society, and the person to flourish on their own terms.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 942-957 ◽  
Author(s):  
Burak Özçetin

This article explores the relationship between populism, media and popular culture in Turkey by focusing on a phenomenal historical television series, Diriliş: Ertuğrul, and the discursive spaces opened by the show. The author relies on a symptomatic analysis of populism which conceptualizes the term as an anti-status quo discourse that simplifies the political space by symbolically dividing the society between ‘the people’ and its other, more specifically ‘the elites’. Diriliş is promoted by the Justice and Development Party ( Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) elite and pro-government media as ‘the show of the people’, and as a cultural artifact belonging to the people. The show has been embraced as an alternative to morally degenerate cultural products of alienated Westernist/Kemalist cultural elites. The Justice and Development Party elites used every opportunity to incorporate the series into its populist political program. The article focuses on a specific crisis moment, ‘The Golden Butterfly Awards 2016’, and the ensuing debates to show how media discourse can resonate with the populist political discourse of a political party.


2021 ◽  
pp. 275-312
Author(s):  
Christophe Jaffrelot ◽  
Pratinav Anil

This chapter focuses on the internal factors that led to the declaration of the Emergency. It primarily explores Mrs Gandhi’s authoritarian personality and the deinstitutionalisation of the Congress Party. The power structure within the Congress, especially after Mrs Gandhi split the party in 1969, meant that checks and balances ceased to exist. This factionalism enabled her to impose her authoritarian tendencies on the government as safeguards were dismantled. The chapter further explores the relation between authoritarianism and populism. It uses the political situation in India from the late 1960s to the early 1970s as an illustration. Mrs Gandhi, like other populist leaders, was convinced that she was the people of India. This idea was epitomised by D. K. Barooah’s slogan: ‘Indira is India and India is Indira.’


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 65
Author(s):  
Satriono Priyo Utomo

During the leadership of President Sukarno, China had an important meaning not only for the people of Indonesia but also as a source of political concept from the perspective of Sukarno. In addition, China also had significance for the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) as a meeting room prior to communist ideology. The paper employs literary study method and discusses about diplomatic relations between Indonesia and China during the Guidance Democracy ( 1949-1965). The relationship between two countries at that time exhibited closeness between Sukarno and Mao Tse Tung. The political dynamics at that time brought the spirit of the New Emerging Forces. Both leaders relied on mass mobilization politics in which Mao used the Chinese Communist Party while Sukarno used the PKI.Keywords: Indonesia, China, diplomacy, politics, ideology, communism


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 389
Author(s):  
Lukman Santoso

Abstract: Pakistan, since independence, there are differences of opinion among the Muslims of Pakistan consisting of secularists, moderate Islamists about how should the implementation of the Islamic politics in Pakistan, giving rise to a prolonged political crisis when today. Pakistan's political turmoil unending birth Pakistani women politicians and thinkers, namely Benazir Bhutto. This paper will focus on the study of Benazir Bhutto thinking about the relationship between Islam and democration in Pakistan. Based on the results of the study, there are some findings: First, Benazir with thoughts that category substantivistik and relatively conflict with Muslim-majority Pakistan (traditionalists and fundamentalists), the ideas in tune with existence, articulation, and a manifestation of Islamic values are intrinsic in the climate modern democrations. Second, the idea of Benazir is a counter discourse to the idea that idealized which Islam should be the political system. Benazir thinking is in line with the paradigm who saw that Islam does not lay down a standard pattern of the theory of the political system must be organized by the people, except for the values and ethical principles. الملخص :كانت في باكستان – منذ حرّيتها – خلافات الآراء عند المسلمين بين العلمانيين والمتوسطين والإسلاميين عن كيفية تطبيق السياسة الإسلامية في باكستان حتى أدّت إلى النزاع السياسيّ الطويل إلى الآن. وظهرت في هذه الفترة النزاعية مفكّرة وسياسيّة بينزر بوطو. حاولت هذه المقالة التركيز في دراسة أفكارها عن التصالح الإسلامي والديموقراطية في باكستان. حصلت هذه الدراسة على النتائج : أولا، كانت بينزر بوطو بما لها من أفكار تميل إلى الأصالة وأفكارها متعارضة بأغلبية المسلمين التقاليديين والأصوليين، وكانت أفكارها موافقة بمكانة القيم الإسلامية الأصيلة وتمثيلها وتطبيقها في ضوء الديموقراطية الحديثة. ثانيا إن هذه الأفكار كردّ تجاه الفكرة المؤيّدة ليكون الإسلام أساسا للدولة. كانت هذه الأفكار تواكب بفكرة أن الإسلام لا يضع نظرية معيّنة لبناء الدولة يعتنقها المسلمون إلا الأسس العامة فقط  والقيم فيها. Abstrak: Pakistan, sejak kemerdekaannya, terdapat perbedaan pendapat dikalangan kaum muslim Pakistan yang terdiri dari kelompok sekular, moderat dan Islamis tentang bagaimana implementasi Islam politik di Pakistan, sehingga menimbulkan kemelut kekuasaan yang berkepanjangan hingga kini. Ditengah kemelut politik Pakistan yang tidak berkesudahan tersebut lahirlah politisi dan pemikir perempuan Pakistan, yakni Benazir Bhutto. Tulisan ini akan memfokuskan kajian pada pemikiran Benazir Bhutto tentang rekonsiliasi Islam dan demokrasi di Pakistan. Berdasarkan hasil kajian, terdapat beberapa temuan, yaitu: Pertama, Benazir dengan pemikirannya yang termasuk kategori substantivistik dan tergolong bertentangan dengan mayoritas muslim Pakistan (tradisionalis dan fundamentalis) ini, gagasannya selaras dengan eksistensi, artikulasi, dan manifestasi nilai-nilai Islam yang instrinsik dalam iklim demokrasi modern. Kedua, gagasan Benazir merupakan counter wacana terhadap pemikiran yang mengidealkan bahwa Islam harus menjadi dasar negara. Pemikiran Benazir ini selaras dengan paradigma yang melihat bahwa Islam tidak meletakkan suatu pola baku tentang teori sistem politik yang harus diselenggarakan oleh umatnya, kecuali nilai-nilai dan prinsip-prinsip etisnya.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-166
Author(s):  
Kun Budianto

Islam is a religion perfect and comprehensive, it should have a major role in the political life of a country. To go toward the integration of society, the state and the Islamic ijtihad is needed that will provide guidance for parliamentarians or politicians in explaining hujahnya in politics. And the interaction of Muslims living in the modern world with the political will give new experiences and challenges towards a just and prosperous society. A clean and healthy politics will increase public confidence, especially in Indonesia that Islam is indeed manage all aspects from the economic, social, military, cultural to political. Political institutions in Islam, among others, consists of the concepts of the constitution, legislation, shura and democracy and also the ummah. Islam made ​​in the constitution is in order as the guidelines and rules of the game in the relationship between government and the people. Legislation created to deal with affairs of state and government set a law that will be enforced and implemented by people. While the shura and democracy are two interrelated things, shura is in deliberation and democracy also emphasizes the element of deliberation. And the ummah or community can be defined nation, people, people, communities and so on. It could be said that the people of an organization are bound by the rules of Islam.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 347
Author(s):  
Safutra Rantona ◽  
Asmaul Husna

Nineteen months have passed, but the action of the political religious social movements which born post religious sacrilege case on Elections Jakarta turned out to be far from over. The movement originally was a step of consolidation in order to evoke the political consciousness of Muslims, now began to be infiltrated by other groups with particular interests. These interest groups considered to sharpen the conflict and cause the political noise never ended across this country. This article try to expose how the social-political issues played massif and structured in virtual spaces by interest groups in order to form the force and gained the power of politics. And how the relationship between religion, state, and people are pitted in order that the collective identity look sharper. So no wonder that the people of Indonesia now seems to have split in two major axis, Religious versus Nationalist.Sembilan belas bulan telah berlalu, namun aksi dari gerakan sosial politik religius yang lahir pasca kasus penistaan agama pada Pilkada DKI Jakarta ternyata belumlah usai. Gerakan yang semula merupakan sebuah langkah konsolidasi guna membangkitkan kesadaran politik umat islam, kini mulai ditunggangi oleh kelompok lain dengan kepentingan tertentu. Kelompok kepentingan inilah yang ditengarai memperkeruh konflik dan menyebabkan kegaduhan politik tak kunjung usai di seantero negeri. Artikel ini mencoba memaparkan bagaimana isu-isu sosial politik kemudian dimainkan secara massif dan terstruktur dalam ruang-ruang virtual oleh kelompok kepentingan guna membentuk kekuatan politik dan demi meraih kekuasaan. Serta bagaimana relasi antara agama, rakyat, dan negara dibenturkan agar identitas kolektif terlihat lebih tajam. Maka tak heran jika kini rakyat Indonesia seolah telah terpropaganda dan terbelah dalam dua poros besar, Agamis dan Nasionalis.


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