Religion and politics in international relations : the modern myth / / Timothy Fitzgerald

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910457467503321
• Autore: Fitzgerald Timothy <1947->
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: New York : , : Continuum, , 2011
• ISBN: 1-4725-4922-8; 1-283-32211-0; 9786613322111; 1-4411-9535-1
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (295 p.)
• Disciplina: 201/.727
• Soggetti: Ideology - Religious aspects; Religion and international relations; Religion and politics; Electronic books.
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Description based upon print version of record.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references (pages [269]-279) and index.
• Nota di contenuto: 1. Preface -- 2. Summary of the contents of the chapters -- 3. Why Focus on International Relations -- 4. Contextualizing the problem in the author's research background -- 5. Summary of the Argument -- 6. Christopher Hitchens and How Religion Poisons Everything -- 7. Eli Berman, Religious Terrorism and the Innocent Economist -- 8. International Relations and Religion's Return from Exile -- 9. Scott M. Thomas, Religion Resurging and International Relations -- 10. Elizabeth Shakman Hurd: the Politics of Secularism in International Relations -- 11. Some further theoretical implications -- Bibliography -- Index.
• Sommario/riassunto: "Scholars in International Relations concerned with religion and its relations to world politics are rhetorically constructing a powerful modern myth. A component of this myth is that religion is inherently violent and irrational unless controlled by the secular state, which is inherently rational and only reluctantly violent. Timothy Fitzgerald discusses how, in this modern myth, "religion" appears as a force of nature which either assists or threatens the sacred secular order of ; things, and how religion is portrayed as a kind of universal essence which takes many forms, its recent most dangerous manifestation being "Islamic terrorism". This book illustrates that the essential distinction between irrational religion and rational secular politics appears as an unquestioned preconception on the basis of which policy is conducted, countries invaded and wars fought. Arguing that this rhetorical construction of religion provides the foundation for faith in the rationality of modern liberal capitalism, Fitzgerald demonstrates how a historically contingent discourse has been transformed into a powerful set of global assumptions"--Bloomsbury Publishing.