scholarly journals Concretizing the Christian Nation

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-174
Author(s):  
Naomi Haynes
Keyword(s):  
Political Power ◽  
Church Leaders ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Imagination ◽  
Productive Force ◽  
The World ◽  
Competing Models ◽  
Building Project ◽  
Christian Nation ◽  
Christian Nationalism

Abstract In October 2015 the Zambian president broke ground on a new National House of Prayer, a building project meant to reaffirm the country's status as Africa's only self-proclaimed “Christian nation.” Over the next four years architects produced three separate sets of plans for the House of Prayer, images of which were circulated among Zambian Christians, primarily church leaders. Each set of plans has provoked conversations about what the House of Prayer should look like. This article shows how discussions of the building's aesthetic features were connected to the theological-political possibilities of Christian nationalism, crystalizing around two competing models of how to go about making Zambia a (more) Christian nation. By tracing the tension between these models through architectural and aesthetic debates, this article shows the link between images and the theological-political imagination. It therefore builds on anthropological analyses of other parts of the world that have emphasized the political power of aesthetics as more than representations of already existing ideas—that is, as an ideologically and politically productive force in its own right.

Gildas and his prophecy for Britain

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 47-68
Author(s):  
Stephen Joyce
Keyword(s):  
Political Power ◽  
Church Leaders ◽  
Fifth Century ◽  
Sixth Century ◽  
The Political

In his De excidio Britanniae, Gildas systematically set out to admonish the morally corrupt secular and church leaders of partitioned fifth- or sixth-century Britain, calling for repentance, unity, and obedience to God's law in order to restore his beloved patria. Examining Gildas' use of rhetorical and biblical legitimations, this paper will argue that his warning of divine judgement for sin was inspired by a scriptural revelation that directly equated partitioned Britain with a divided biblical Israel just prior to the fall of Judah and Jerusalem to the Babylonians. In doing so, Gildas, drawing on both Jeremiah, prophet to the nations, and Paul, apostle to the nations, strikingly claimed prophecy. It will be argued that Gildas' unique prophecy for Britain, built on respect for romanitas, fear of de praesenti iudicio, and a singular providential claim to the inheritance of Israel, defined the political power of his natio not by gens but by obedience to God's law. In doing so, Gildas appears to draw on cultural, literary, and religious themes more appropriate to the late-fifth century than the mid-sixth century.

scholarly journals The crisis of modernity as the crisis of the political: Towards a critique of the reason of the ethos

2003 ◽  
pp. 61-85
Author(s):  
Simo Elakovic
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Political Power ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
The World ◽  
Political Act ◽  
Crisis Of Modernity ◽  
Political Decision Making

The crisis of modernity as the crisis of the political is seen by the author primarily as a crisis of the "measure" of the criterion of political decision making and action. This crisis is understood in the first place as a crisis of self-awareness and practice of the ethos. Machiavelli was the first to attempt a solution to this problem by introducing the concept of virtus, which became the fundamental principle of modern political philosophy. However, many modern and contemporary interpreters of Machiavelli's thought often ignore the social and political context in which the political doctrine of the Florentine thinker arose. Namely, Machiavelli's effort to find an authentic form of the political act that would make possible a harmonization and stabilization of the dramatic political circumstances then prevailing in Italian cities required a reliable diagnosis and adequate means for a successful therapy of the sick organism of the community. The epochal novelty in Machiavelli's political theory was the shift from the ancient theorization of virtue to its modern operationalization. Nevertheless, this shift is often interpreted as a radical opposing of the Greek concept of arete to the Roman virtus, which is crudely and simplistically reduced to bravery and strength necessary for taking and keeping political power. Hegel in his political philosophy travels an important part of the road - unconsciously rather than consciously - along with Machiavelli and Shelling. This particularly holds for his understanding of the necessity of strength and bravery in the process of operationalizing the spirit of freedom in history through the mediation of "negation" as "the power of evil". The mediation of subjectivity and substantiality, according to Hegel, takes place in the state by the brutal bridling of the world spirit where not just individuals but whole peoples are sacrificed - toward freedom, i.e. its realization in the community of the ethos. The "trouble of the times" is a consequence of the separation between I and the world (Entzeiung) and stems from a reduced political reason which lacks the criterion of the ethical totality for political action and decision making. By the separation of the ethos this reason get routinized and political action is reduced to naked technique of winning and keeping political power. In the concluding segment of the paper the author points to some global consequences of the crisis of political decision making in the historical reality at the end of 20th century.

scholarly journals Reading Schmitt from the Sea: Tracing Constitutive Outsiders and Displacing the Conceptual Order (and Ordering) of the Political

Dados ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Vilchez Yamato
Keyword(s):  
Political Organization ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Imagination ◽  
The World ◽  
Limit Position ◽  
Forms Of Violence ◽  
Conceptual Language ◽  
Strategy I ◽  
The Way

ABSTRACT In this article, I offer a displacement of Carl Schmitt’s metaphysical image of a specific epoch and the way it forges a particular construction of the planet, which reveals architectonic traces of a normative framing which authorizes and legitimizes, a specific way of conceiving the appropriate form of the political organization of the world. Inspired by Jacques Derrida’s work, I displace Schmitt’s traditional friend/enemy dualism towards the sea and the conceptual (post) structural limit-position of the pirate. Adopting a Derridean, deconstructionist strategy, I question the way Schmitt conceptually (self-) authorizes his conceptual order (and ordering), identifying some spaces, actions, and categories of subjects as unpolitical . Negatively, I argue, these non- political constructions, these constitutive outsiders , conceptually authorize the line which enables the conditions for conceptualizing and identifying the political. In reading Schmitt from the sea, I invite the reader to reimagine the boundaries of our cartographical political imagination, the limits of our normative conceptual language, and the ways in which the legitimation of exceptional forms of violence may be conceptually articulated, authorized, and legitimized.

scholarly journals Managing diversity: is Australia bucking the postmulticulturalist trend or on its way to embrace interculturalism?

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maren Klein
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Arena ◽  
Unique Type ◽  
Managing Diversity ◽  
The World ◽  
Building Project

At a time when multiculturalism as an approach to managing diversity in society has been declared a failed policy in many western countries, Australia still seems committed to the approach as evidenced in public discourse and government declarations. The concept of interculturalism— promoted as a more appropriate approach to dealing with diversity in other parts of the world such as Europe and Canada—seemingly has no place in the Australian context. However, changes in the understanding of the concept, its application and degrees of commitment to it can also be observed in Australia. Not only has the meaning and execution of multiculturalism changed considerably over the years, there has also been vigorous debate and backlash, embodied in the political arena, by the (re) emergence of parties, and more recently, a variety of groupings with a nationalistic and/or nativist focus. More generally, a hardened attitude in public discourses concerning migration, social cohesion and national identity has developed over the last two decades. In the context of these developments, this article will trace the evolution of the Australian concept of multiculturalism and its concrete application focussing on the changes of the last two decades. A comparison of Australia’s purportedly unique type of multiculturalism and concept(s) of interculturalism to explore whether Australia’s nation-building project is indeed distinct from other countries’ diversity experience, or whether there is a place for interculturalism in Australia in an era of increasing mobility will conclude the article.

Conclusion

2020 ◽  
pp. 151-164
Author(s):  
Andrew L. Whitehead ◽  
Samuel L. Perry
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Context ◽  
The World ◽  
Sense Of Identity ◽  
Christian Nation ◽  
Christian Nationalism

The conclusion provides an overview of the four responses to the Christian nation narrative and the key patterns outlined throughout the book. It rearticulates the main arguments that Christian nationalism is vital to understanding our current social and political context, that it is not synonymous with or a byproduct of other ideologies, and that it operates differently from religion writ large. Christian nationalism shapes Americans’ sense of identity and moral certitude, providing a vision of how the world should look and how believers should enact that vision. The chapter closes by pointing out the implications Christian nationalism has for civil society in the United States, as well as for Christianity. In the end, all Americans are subject to the influence of Christian nationalism whether they reject it or fully embrace it.

scholarly journals Taking Dominion in a Christian Nation

Pneuma ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 214-232
Author(s):  
Naomi Haynes
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
The West ◽  
The North ◽  
Anthropology Of Christianity ◽  
Contemporary Christian ◽  
The World ◽  
Key Players ◽  
Christian Reconstruction ◽  
Christian Nation ◽  
Christian Nationalism

Abstract This article traces some of the North American theological influences on contemporary Christian nationalism in Zambia. Beginning with an overview of key tenets of Christian Reconstruction and the New Apostolic Reformation, I show how these movements have influenced the writing of some key players in Zambia’s Christian nationalist project. I also demonstrate how these authors have modified the Western ideas that have shaped their thought. This analysis responds to calls in the anthropology of Christianity for better documentation of the various forms Christian nationalism takes around the world, perhaps especially outside the West. It also challenges easy arguments about the influence of Western Christian activists on Christian politics in Africa by foregrounding the agency of local writers and theologians, even as they engage with theological ideas that originated in the West.

Land Reform in Chile

1963 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-211
Author(s):  
James Becket
Keyword(s):  
Land Reform ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Central Valley ◽  
Core Region ◽  
The Political ◽  
The West ◽  
The Core ◽  
The North ◽  
The World ◽  
North And South

Of all the generalizations about Chile, those dealing with geography are the most accurate. Geographical facts have given shape and character to Chilean life and Chilean problems. Nature gave the heart of Chile patches of excellent soil and a climate kind to man. But this central valley is isolated, bounded on the north by desert, the east by towering mountains, the west by a cold and tempestuous ocean, and the south by the end of the world. Ownership of the land has been the keystone of Chilean history, and the fertile land is in the core region of the nation. There, in Mediterranean Chile, live three-quarters of the nation's population, there resides the political power in a unitary republic in which the president appoints provincial governors and there are no provincial assemblies, there are owned and managed the enterprises of north and south.

scholarly journals Dinamika Perkembangan Islam Politik di Nusantara: Dari Masa Tradisional Hingga Indonesia Modern

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Yudi Armansyah
Keyword(s):  
Political Power ◽  
Political Islam ◽  
The Political ◽  
Final Phase ◽  
Political Force ◽  
Political Reforms ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
The World ◽  
Two Phases

Historically, Indonesia was once a political force that counts the world. It was marked by the birth of political forces during the Hindu Buddhist kingdom until the Islamic sultanate. Ironically, the final phase of the power of political Islam, began to decline since the arrival of colonialism, especially the Dutch colonization that fundamentally colonized in 350 years. But it does not necessarily discourage Islam Politics grow and flourish in the archipelago. Even since Indonesia became independent until it changed into the period of the three Order Lama regimes, the Order Baru and Islamic political reforms remain the barometer of Indonesia's political power. This article is about to unravel the dynamics of the development of political Islam in Indonesia. Where can be classified into two phases, namely the traditional-royal phase, the modern phase. From the results of this study, there are at least two patterns of development of the political power of Islam in Indonesia, which can survive despite real “pressure” from the ruling that is on the political and cultural fields

Anthropological Perspectives on the Limits of the State

2018 ◽  
pp. 67-88
Author(s):  
Andrew Brandel ◽  
Shalini Randeria
Keyword(s):  
Political Power ◽  
State Capacity ◽  
State Power ◽  
Global South ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Everyday Experience ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The World ◽  
Social Scientific

This chapter examines how anthropological work on the state and political power not only complements, but also contests the political scientific conception of limited statehood. The two disciplines are no longer distinguished by the methods they employ, or their analytical dispositions, or the regions of the world where they conduct research. Here it is suggested instead that anthropology continues to be defined by its commitment to challenging universalizing social scientific assumptions on the basis of ethnography that theorizes from everyday experience. Drawing on examples both from the global South and North, we delineate how anthropology nuances various conceptions of limits of state power, particularly those that structure the binaries of West and non-West, public and private, state and non-state, formal and informal, national and trans- or supranational, on which much of the discussion of state capacity, or its partial absence, is predicated.

Post-Qualitative Filmic Research in Education: Utilizing a “Re/Active Documentary” Methodology

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 427-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Joy Wolfe
Keyword(s):  
Research Methodology ◽  
Equal Opportunity ◽  
Political Power ◽  
The Political ◽  
The World ◽  
Materialist Theory ◽  
Research In Education

This article discusses a filmic research methodology that notices the tangible aesthetic affective entanglements of entities. It explicitly notices traces of self as discernible in others as mattering and is understood as an affirmative movement that may enable an uptake of equal opportunity in education. This filmic work with former Australian schoolgirls expands on Bill Nichols’ framing of performative documentary by drawing on Karen Barad’s new materialist theory of intra-action, during the making and multiple re-presentations of the research. This phenomenon demonstrates the political power of the named “re/active documentary” as a perpetual and co-created intra-action with participants, image, “things,” and virtual audience. Difference in this research is not exterior but a movement of connections where the entanglement of participants, researcher, film artifact, and audience are fluid emergent parts co-constituted within the world.

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