1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910811277103321

Titolo

Challenging Theocracy : Ancient Lessons for Global Politics / / David Tabachnick, Toivo Koivukoski, Herminio Meireles Teixeira

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Toronto : , : University of Toronto Press, , [2018]

©2018

ISBN

1-4426-1990-2

1-4426-1989-9

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (366 pages)

Classificazione

cci1icc

coll13

Disciplina

321/.5

Soggetti

Theocracy - History

Religion and politics - History

Political science - Philosophy

History

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Includes index.

Nota di contenuto

Cover; Page i; Contents; Preface; Part One: Theocracy in Ancient Political Thought and Practice; 1 Theocracy as Temptation: Empire and Mindfulness; 2 The Confrontation between Classical Political Philosophy and the Gods of the City; 3 Between Rationalism and Theocracy: Plato, the Mysteries, and F.W.J. Schelling's Analysis of the Modern State; 4 The Place of Religion in Politics: On Analogous Gods and the Piety of the Unspoken; 5 The Aristotelian Roots of Religious Governance Approaches; Part Two: Theocracy and Modern State Politics; 6 The Non-Theocratic Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI).

7 Islamism in North Africa: From Cairo to Tunis8 Theocratic Arguments in Judaism; 9 Saving Miracles: Political Theology and Theocracy in the Schmitt-Benjamin Encounter; Part Three: Responding to the Challenges of Theocracy; 10 Theocracy's Challenge; 11 The Impossibility of Theocracy: The Weakness of the Gods; 12 Understanding Our Adversaries: Ancient vs. Modern Political Thought; 13 Religion, Tolerance, and American Theocratic Politics: Lessons for the



Contemporary Era; 14 Shaftesbury's Characteristics and the Problem of Priestcraft; Contributors; Index.

Sommario/riassunto

Commonly perceived as a direct threat to the practice of liberal democracy, the global reemergence of theocratic claims to political rule is a misunderstood development of twenty-first century politics. Analyzing the relationship between religion and politics throughout the Middle East, Africa, and the United States, as well as classical and medieval political philosophical sources, Challenging Theocracy critiques the contemporary formation of theocracy. Providing an account of the origins and influence of theocracy, the chapters in this volume explore ancient texts that articulate the theocratic political ideas that continue to bubble under the surface of political life today. In an effort to consider how regimes extend beyond their immediate institutional and legal forms and find their foundation in timeless ideas, the contributors examine ancient and modern political thought to better understand their persistent power and impact on global politics.