Samuel Weber
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780823224753
- eISBN:
- 9780823235650
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fso/9780823224753.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
The title of this book echoes a phrase used by the Washington Post to describe the American attempt to kill Saddam Hussein at the start of the war against Iraq. Its theme is the notion of targeting ...
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The title of this book echoes a phrase used by the Washington Post to describe the American attempt to kill Saddam Hussein at the start of the war against Iraq. Its theme is the notion of targeting (skopos) as the name of an intentional structure in which the subject tries to confirm its invulnerability by aiming to destroy a target. At the center of the first chapter is Odysseus's killing of the suitors; the second concerns Carl Schmitt's Roman Catholicism and Political Form; the third and fourth treat Freud's "Thoughts for the Times on War and Death" and "The Man Moses and Monotheistic Religion." The book then traces the emergence of an alternative to targeting, first within military and strategic thinking itself ("Network Centered Warfare"), and then in Walter Benjamin's readings of "Capitalism as Religion" and "Two Poems of Friedrich Hölderlin".Less
The title of this book echoes a phrase used by the Washington Post to describe the American attempt to kill Saddam Hussein at the start of the war against Iraq. Its theme is the notion of targeting (skopos) as the name of an intentional structure in which the subject tries to confirm its invulnerability by aiming to destroy a target. At the center of the first chapter is Odysseus's killing of the suitors; the second concerns Carl Schmitt's Roman Catholicism and Political Form; the third and fourth treat Freud's "Thoughts for the Times on War and Death" and "The Man Moses and Monotheistic Religion." The book then traces the emergence of an alternative to targeting, first within military and strategic thinking itself ("Network Centered Warfare"), and then in Walter Benjamin's readings of "Capitalism as Religion" and "Two Poems of Friedrich Hölderlin".
David T. Buckley
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780231180061
- eISBN:
- 9780231542449
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231180061.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Religion and democracy can make tense bedfellows. Secular elites may view religious movements as conflict-prone and incapable of compromise, while religious actors may fear that anticlericalism will ...
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Religion and democracy can make tense bedfellows. Secular elites may view religious movements as conflict-prone and incapable of compromise, while religious actors may fear that anticlericalism will drive religion from public life. Yet such tensions are not inevitable: from Asia to Latin America, religious actors coexist with, and even help to preserve, democracy. In Faithful to Secularism, David T. Buckley argues that political institutions that encourage an active role for public religion are a key part in explaining this variation. He develops the concept of "benevolent secularism" to describe institutions that combine a basic division of religion and state with extensive room for participation of religious actors in public life. He traces the impact of benevolent secularism on religious and secular elites, both at critical junctures in state formation and as politics evolves over time. Buckley shows how religious and secular actors build credibility and shared norms over time, and explains how such coalitions can endure challenges from both religious revivals and periods of anticlericalism. Faithful to Secularism tests this institutional theory in Ireland, Senegal, and the Philippines, using a blend of archival, interview, and public opinion data. These case studies illustrate how even countries with an active religious majority can become and remain faithful to secularism.Less
Religion and democracy can make tense bedfellows. Secular elites may view religious movements as conflict-prone and incapable of compromise, while religious actors may fear that anticlericalism will drive religion from public life. Yet such tensions are not inevitable: from Asia to Latin America, religious actors coexist with, and even help to preserve, democracy. In Faithful to Secularism, David T. Buckley argues that political institutions that encourage an active role for public religion are a key part in explaining this variation. He develops the concept of "benevolent secularism" to describe institutions that combine a basic division of religion and state with extensive room for participation of religious actors in public life. He traces the impact of benevolent secularism on religious and secular elites, both at critical junctures in state formation and as politics evolves over time. Buckley shows how religious and secular actors build credibility and shared norms over time, and explains how such coalitions can endure challenges from both religious revivals and periods of anticlericalism. Faithful to Secularism tests this institutional theory in Ireland, Senegal, and the Philippines, using a blend of archival, interview, and public opinion data. These case studies illustrate how even countries with an active religious majority can become and remain faithful to secularism.
Andrea Mariuzzo
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781526121875
- eISBN:
- 9781526138712
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9781526121875.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter highlights the extent to which a radical and absolute struggle such as the Cold War opposition of Communists and anti-Communists involves the aspects of religious faith and moral values. ...
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This chapter highlights the extent to which a radical and absolute struggle such as the Cold War opposition of Communists and anti-Communists involves the aspects of religious faith and moral values. The theological anti-Communism promoted by the Churches of Pius XI and Pius XII strongly influenced the perception of Communism in Italy. Communists were frequently seen as ‘godless’ sinners and immoral corruptors of the youth. Such common perception forced the Italian Communist Party to a reaction based on the claim of its full compliance to the inner spirit of the Christian message of charity and solidarity.Less
This chapter highlights the extent to which a radical and absolute struggle such as the Cold War opposition of Communists and anti-Communists involves the aspects of religious faith and moral values. The theological anti-Communism promoted by the Churches of Pius XI and Pius XII strongly influenced the perception of Communism in Italy. Communists were frequently seen as ‘godless’ sinners and immoral corruptors of the youth. Such common perception forced the Italian Communist Party to a reaction based on the claim of its full compliance to the inner spirit of the Christian message of charity and solidarity.