Why should one be interested in the theological dimension within the project of modern politics? On the Chinese acceptance of Carl Schmitt's political theology

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-22
Author(s):  
Zhang Shuangli
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Model ◽  
Political Theology ◽  
The State ◽  
Modern Politics ◽  
Chinese Scholars ◽  
Sharp Criticism ◽  
Deep Crisis

Why has Schmitt's political theology been influential among some Chinese scholars? It is pointed out in this article that this special phenomenon resulted from the Chinese awareness of the deep crisis within modern politics as well as the Chinese hope for the alternative model of modern politics. To these Chinese scholars, Schmitt, by making clear the hidden theological dimension of modern politics, seems to have offered both a sharp criticism of the tendency of mechanization of the state and a creative proposal to save modern politics. Based on the analysis of the reasons for these Chinese scholars' preference for Schmitt's political theology to Marx's criticism of modern politics, it is also argued that this acceptance of Schmitt's political theology could actually hamper the Chinese efforts toward new possibilities of modern politics.

Political Theory and Political Theology

2020 ◽  
pp. 248-258
Author(s):  
Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde ◽  
Mirjam Künkler ◽  
Tine Stein
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Alternative Model ◽  
Political Theology ◽  
The State ◽  
Carl Schmitt ◽  
The Political ◽  
Pope John Paul Ii ◽  
Political Field ◽  
John Paul Ii

In this article, Böckenförde tries to determine the proper means of conducting political theology. After dismissing juridical political theology in the vein of Carl Schmitt as not so much theological but rather sociological in its discussion of how original theological terms such as ‘sovereignty’ were transposed to the state, people, or government, he turns to two other models: Böckenförde sees a shift away from classical institutional political theology à la Augustine, which explores what Christianity has to say about a state’s status, legitimation, and structure, to what he calls appellative political theology. Immediately concerned with action, the latter manifests itself inter alia as liberation theology and tends to run the risk of dissolving into theologically justified, and ultimately arbitrary, politics. As an alternative model, Böckenförde extols the political theology of Pope John Paul II. By focusing on the words of Jesus and the Gospel and other topics that appear ‘nonpolitical’ at first glance, the pope makes the case for dignity, liberty, and the purpose of man, taking the side of the weak and rejecting violence. In Böckenförde’s view, such a political theology is not about to be rendered obsolete by modernity. Since politics is essentially concerned with relations between individuals and groups, religion cannot avoid being drawn into the political field and raise its voice there as well.

Conclusion

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare Chambers
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Model ◽  
The State ◽  
Personal Relationships ◽  
Free State ◽  
State Recognition ◽  
Ways Of Life

The conclusion recaps the arguments of Against Marriage: An Egalitarian Defence of the Marriage-Free State. The book presents a critique of state-recognized marriage and an alternative model for regulating personal relationships. The main critique of marriage is that it is inegalitarian. Feminists have long criticized the gendered nature of marriage. Even reformed marriage creates unjustified inequalities between married and unmarried people and their children. State recognition of marriage also involves the state in making controversial judgements about ways of life, undermining liberty. In place of state-recognized marriage, the marriage-free state would regulate relationship practices in a piecemeal fashion and without requiring a special status.

Leviathan on a Leash

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Fleming
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Sovereign Debt ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Thomas Hobbes ◽  
The State ◽  
State Responsibility ◽  
Modern Politics ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The World

States are commonly blamed for wars, called on to apologize, held liable for debts and reparations, bound by treaties, and punished with sanctions. But what does it mean to hold a state responsible as opposed to a government, a nation, or an individual leader? Under what circumstances should we assign responsibility to states rather than individuals? This book demystifies the phenomenon of state responsibility and explains why it is a challenging yet indispensable part of modern politics. Taking Thomas Hobbes' theory of the state as a starting point, the book presents a theory of state responsibility that sheds new light on sovereign debt, historical reparations, treaty obligations, and economic sanctions. Along the way, it overturns longstanding interpretations of Hobbes' political thought, explores how new technologies will alter the practice of state responsibility as we know it, and develops new accounts of political authority, representation, and legitimacy. The book argues that Hobbes' idea of the state offers a far richer and more realistic conception of state responsibility than the theories prevalent today and demonstrates that Hobbes' Leviathan is much more than an anthropomorphic “artificial man.” The book is essential reading for political theorists, scholars of international relations, international lawyers, and philosophers. It recovers a forgotten understanding of state personality in Hobbes' thought and shows how to apply it to the world of imperfect states in which we live.

A Movement Emerges

The Puritans ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 40-77
Author(s):  
David D. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Political Theology ◽  
Church And State ◽  
The State ◽  
Early Modern Europe ◽  
Rhetorical Strategy ◽  
Working Together ◽  
Modern Europe ◽  
Royal Supremacy

This chapter examines how reformation unfolded in England. A tiny number of people acted on the imperative to quit the state church. Why did others who wanted reform or reformation not follow their example? As often happened in early modern Europe, outbursts of radicalism prompted a reaction in favor of more moderate or even conservative principles or goals. The first of these was the ambition to take over and refashion a state church with the help of the civil magistrate. In 1558, hopes ran high for Elizabeth to play this role. In the eyes of English and Scottish Presbyterians, magisterial Protestantism—that is, church and state working together to impose and protect a certain version of Protestantism—was justified by biblical precept and political theology. Moreover, this kind of Protestantism preserved a strong role for the clergy over against the “Brownistical” or “democratic” implications of Separatism. At a moment when the rhetorical strategy of anti-puritans such as Bancroft was to emphasize the “Anabaptisticall” aspects of the movement, a third goal was political, to deflect the force of that rhetoric by insisting on the benefits of a national church and some version of the royal supremacy.

Postlude Pardoning and Liberal Constitutionalism

2019 ◽  
pp. 249-274
Author(s):  
Bernadette Meyler
Keyword(s):  
Immanuel Kant ◽  
Hannah Arendt ◽  
Political Theology ◽  
The State ◽  
State Of Exception ◽  
Constitutional Theory ◽  
Liberal Constitutionalism

Its historical association with monarchical sovereignty has tarred pardoning with an illiberal brush. This Postlude examines Carl Schmitt’s Constitutional Theory, Political Theology and other writings to argue that the pardon resembles the sovereign decision on the state of exception. The vision of pardoning as opposed to liberal constitutionalism dates further back than Schmitt, however; it appears as well in the writings of Immanuel Kant, one of the foundational figures of modern liberalism. Only by disassociating pardoning from sovereignty can it be reconciled with constitutionalism. The Postlude concludes by turning to the work of Hannah Arendt as one source for a non-sovereign vision of pardoning.

The Anti-Rightist Campaign and Political Labelling

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ning Wang
Keyword(s):  
Communist Party ◽  
Chinese Communist Party ◽  
Interpersonal Relations ◽  
State Policies ◽  
The State ◽  
Intellectual Freedom ◽  
Abuse Of Power ◽  
Work Units ◽  
The Chinese Communist Party ◽  
Sharp Criticism

This chapter contends that, although some intellectuals were labelled rightists because of their sharp criticism of Party policies and cadre officials (for their abuse of power) or because of their advocacy of greater intellectual freedom, many others were so labelled due to factional conflicts, personal animosity, grudges, and/or the mishandling of interpersonal relations. The chapter suggests that, although the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the Anti-Rightist Campaign to punish opponents of the state, intellectuals and officials took advantage of it to attack their peers and competitors. As Party bosses and heads of work units had the power to interpret state policies and to determine a person's fortune, those individuals who did not truly display dissent but simply failed to adequately manage their relations with these power holders inevitably suffered in politically motivated campaigns.

Introduction

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Igor Fedyukin
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
The State ◽  
The Self ◽  
Modern State ◽  
Modes Of Operation ◽  
Modern Politics ◽  
Traditional Image

The Introduction defines the notion of “administrative entrepreneurship” and outlines the role the “administrative entrepreneurs” played in building the infrastructure of the early modern state, including schools. Recent historiography has tended to question the traditional image of the “absolutist” state as a powerful unified actor, stressing instead the limits of the rulers’ actual power, the role of social compromises, and the pervasiveness of unofficial clans and patronage networks that structured early modern politics in Europe and elsewhere. Scholars also emphasize the premodern, patrimonial character of bureaucracy in that era. Against this backdrop, the Introduction argues that it might have been the self-seeking projectors who drove the invention and expansion of the state as they strove to invent jobs for themselves and to promote their agendas. The chapter introduces three types of “administrative entrepreneurs”—the “experts,” the “ministers,” and the “functionaries”—and outlines their respective modes of operation.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Feisal G. Mohamed
Keyword(s):  
John Milton ◽  
Thomas Hobbes ◽  
The State ◽  
Carl Schmitt ◽  
The Political ◽  
Sovereign Power ◽  
Andrew Marvell ◽  
Universal Principles ◽  
Modern Politics ◽  
Political Settlement

A modern politics attaching itself to the state must adopt a position sovereignty, by which is meant the political settlement in which potestas and auctoritas are aligned. Three competing forms are identified: unitary sovereignty, divided and balanced sovereignty, and the view that sovereign power must be limited by universal principles. Each of these forms can be divided into “red” and “black” varieties, depending on the imagined relationship between sovereign power and modern conditions of flux. A chapter outline introduces the figures who will be explored in the book as a whole: Thomas Hobbes; William Fiennes, Lord Saye and Sele; John Barclay and the romance writers of the 1650s whom he influences; John Milton; and Andrew Marvell. Also described is the book’s sustained engagement of Carl Schmitt, and the ways in which his thought on sovereignty is an example of the competition amongst the concept’s three competing forms.

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