Uporaba mitov in religije v politiki ima že dolgo zgodovino. Z miti je mogoče podkrepiti skliceva... more Uporaba mitov in religije v politiki ima že dolgo zgodovino. Z miti je mogoče podkrepiti sklicevanje na legitimnost dinastije in zahteve po ozemlju, blaženosti, celo svetništvu osrednjega lika mita. Kanonizacija je sama po sebi še posebej močno orodje. Seveda so razlogi, zakaj bi nekoga povzdignili v svetnika, različni -lahko gre za željo, da bi dali za zgled še posebej bogaboječega in dobrotljivega človeka, ali za željo, da bi nagradili prebivalce določene dežele ali območja s tem, da bi izkazali čast enemu izmed njih, ali za oceno, da bo razglasitev narodnega svetnika pomagala pospešiti širjenje krščanstva v deželi, kjer so še v veljavi predkrščanska verovanja, ali celo za prizadevanje, da bi odvzeli legitimnost nekemu režimu, tako kot je ruska pravoslavna cerkev leta 2000 s kanonizacijo carja Nikolaja II. dokončno vzela vso legitimnost boljševikom, saj so postali morilci svetnika. Nas bo tu še posebej zanimala podelitev svetništva kralju kot sredstvo za podelitev legitimnosti njegovim potomcem ali za posvetitev idealov, za katere se je bojda boril. 2 Miti se lahko nadalje razvijajo in način predstavitve kralja se lahko s časom spremeni; tu ni Srbija nobena izjema. Pravzaprav lahko pri njej govorimo o izbiri med več možnimi kandidati za vlogo osrednjega mitološkega junaka. Začnimo pri svetem Savi (1175-1235), enem izmed sinov Štefana Nemanje in prvem srbskem nadškofu. Velja za najpomembnejšega srbskega svetnika in je ustanovitelj Srbske pravoslavne cerkve. O tem, kako pomemben je, govori to, da so mu posvetili največjo srbsko pravoslavno katedralo. Vendar sveti Sava ni najprimernejši kot osrednji lik nacionalnega mita, ker ni bil politična figura. Drugi kandidat bi lahko bil car Dušan Silni (Štefan Uroš IV. Dušan, 1308-1355). Vladal je kot kralj Srbije od 1331 do 1346 in je torej kot cesar (car) širil meje države, dokler ni bila ena največjih v Evropi, in izdal je svojo kodifikacijo; ob dveh ločenih priložnostih je porazil Ogrsko in pripojil velik del bizantinskega ozemlja na jugovzhodu Evrope. Velikokrat ga TEORIJA IN PRAKSA let. 45, 5/2008 575 * Dr. Sabrina P. Ramet, ugledna profesorica političnih znanosti na norveški univerzi za znanost in tehnologijo -NTNU -v Trondheimu. 1 To je prevod angleškega izvirnika, ki bo objavljen v Civic & uncivic values in Serbia: The post-Milošević era, ur. Dragana Dulić, Ola Listhaug in Sabrina P. Ramet, ki je v pripravi. Copyright (c) 2008 Sabrina P. Ramet. Vse pravice pridržane. 2 O rabi kanonizacije v politične namene glej Michael Goodich, »The Politics of Canonization in the
Spinoza, Pufendorf and Locke all championed freedom of thought (including freedom of religion) an... more Spinoza, Pufendorf and Locke all championed freedom of thought (including freedom of religion) and of speech; all three thinkers deserve credit for having forged the fundamental principles of the liberal tradition. Spinoza, in particular, was the first writer in modern times to articulate a systematic defence of democracy. He believed that the state should promote the welfare of its citizens, while maximising their freedom. Although he equated right with power, he also advocated respect for the moral law, stressing the importance of being good to other people.
How successful or unsuccessful has Macedonia been since its declaration of independence in 1991? ... more How successful or unsuccessful has Macedonia been since its declaration of independence in 1991? The question sounds simple enough. At first glance, one is inclined to say that it has been unusually unsuccessful, even by Balkan standards. The country has been blocked by Greece in its quest to join the European Union (EU) and NATO, was forced -again by Greece -to change its flag and modify its constitution to renounce territorial aspirations it never nurtured, and was admitted to the United Nations only under the humiliating name Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia -a designation which suggests to Macedonians that their state is a kind of pariah. Then there is the fact that 30.4 per cent of its people were living below the poverty line in 2011 (see the Introduction to this volume). Again, as noted in the Introduction, Macedonia's ranking on press freedom in 2015 was the lowest among the seven Yugoslav successor states. And finally, there is the extent of corruption through which the ruling party has maintained itself in power since 2006 (detailed below in the subsection Allegations of Abuse of Power and in the section Political Transformation II below). 1 Except where otherwise noted, all internet sources cited herein were accessed during the period 4-7 November 2014.
Since the election of the right-wing government in Poland in 2015, the polarization between secul... more Since the election of the right-wing government in Poland in 2015, the polarization between secularism and clericalism has sharpened, with an access to abortion figuring as the pivotal issue for both sides. Clericals (conservatives) want to see any legislation with a moral content conform to Catholic doctrine, while advocates of secularism-liberals, broadly understood-hold that the laws of Poland should not be guided by the Catholic Church. Since 2020, the fight over abortion has sparked an insurrection by women. At issue is nothing less than the future character of democracy in Poland.
The 19th century was a time of rapid population growth in the United States, and much of it was d... more The 19th century was a time of rapid population growth in the United States, and much of it was due to immigration from Europe. In the 1840s and 1850s, the largest proportion of immigrants came from Ireland and Germany, and most were Catholic. The Germans spread across small communities as far west as Wisconsin and Texas, but the Irish concentrated in the larger cities on the eastern seaboard, especially Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Local third- and fourth-generation Protestant immigrants from England resented the new arrivals and organized “Nativist” associations. Among these was the anti-Catholic American Party, better known as the Know Nothing Party, which enjoyed spectacular success in Massachusetts and other states during 1854–1855. But, by 1862, the party was dead. This article examines how moral panic theory, the theory of persistent cultural patterns and cycles, and revitalization theory may offer insights into the Know Nothing Party. Each of these theories...
Although Heidegger was influenced by a number of thinkers, above all ancient Greeks and nineteent... more Although Heidegger was influenced by a number of thinkers, above all ancient Greeks and nineteenth‐century Germans, the fragments of the pre‐Socratic philosophers Heraclitus and Parmenides exerted a particular fascination on Heidegger. Revolted by what he considered the superficiality of bourgeois life and the spiritual decline of the West, Heidegger wanted to demolish that society, looked to the Nazis to effect a revolution in politics, and drew inspiration for his Nazism from the pre‐Socratics. In the process, he rejected the moral universalism of Kant, distorted Nietzsche’s thinking, and marshaled the pre‐Socratics in support of his call on Germans to accept their destiny and undertake their mission to struggle for glory and for spiritual rejuvenation. Heidegger’s interpretation of Heraclitus and Parmenides was, thus, an integral component of his particular brand of Nazism.
Uporaba mitov in religije v politiki ima že dolgo zgodovino. Z miti je mogoče podkrepiti skliceva... more Uporaba mitov in religije v politiki ima že dolgo zgodovino. Z miti je mogoče podkrepiti sklicevanje na legitimnost dinastije in zahteve po ozemlju, blaženosti, celo svetništvu osrednjega lika mita. Kanonizacija je sama po sebi še posebej močno orodje. Seveda so razlogi, zakaj bi nekoga povzdignili v svetnika, različni -lahko gre za željo, da bi dali za zgled še posebej bogaboječega in dobrotljivega človeka, ali za željo, da bi nagradili prebivalce določene dežele ali območja s tem, da bi izkazali čast enemu izmed njih, ali za oceno, da bo razglasitev narodnega svetnika pomagala pospešiti širjenje krščanstva v deželi, kjer so še v veljavi predkrščanska verovanja, ali celo za prizadevanje, da bi odvzeli legitimnost nekemu režimu, tako kot je ruska pravoslavna cerkev leta 2000 s kanonizacijo carja Nikolaja II. dokončno vzela vso legitimnost boljševikom, saj so postali morilci svetnika. Nas bo tu še posebej zanimala podelitev svetništva kralju kot sredstvo za podelitev legitimnosti njegovim potomcem ali za posvetitev idealov, za katere se je bojda boril. 2 Miti se lahko nadalje razvijajo in način predstavitve kralja se lahko s časom spremeni; tu ni Srbija nobena izjema. Pravzaprav lahko pri njej govorimo o izbiri med več možnimi kandidati za vlogo osrednjega mitološkega junaka. Začnimo pri svetem Savi (1175-1235), enem izmed sinov Štefana Nemanje in prvem srbskem nadškofu. Velja za najpomembnejšega srbskega svetnika in je ustanovitelj Srbske pravoslavne cerkve. O tem, kako pomemben je, govori to, da so mu posvetili največjo srbsko pravoslavno katedralo. Vendar sveti Sava ni najprimernejši kot osrednji lik nacionalnega mita, ker ni bil politična figura. Drugi kandidat bi lahko bil car Dušan Silni (Štefan Uroš IV. Dušan, 1308-1355). Vladal je kot kralj Srbije od 1331 do 1346 in je torej kot cesar (car) širil meje države, dokler ni bila ena največjih v Evropi, in izdal je svojo kodifikacijo; ob dveh ločenih priložnostih je porazil Ogrsko in pripojil velik del bizantinskega ozemlja na jugovzhodu Evrope. Velikokrat ga TEORIJA IN PRAKSA let. 45, 5/2008 575 * Dr. Sabrina P. Ramet, ugledna profesorica političnih znanosti na norveški univerzi za znanost in tehnologijo -NTNU -v Trondheimu. 1 To je prevod angleškega izvirnika, ki bo objavljen v Civic & uncivic values in Serbia: The post-Milošević era, ur. Dragana Dulić, Ola Listhaug in Sabrina P. Ramet, ki je v pripravi. Copyright (c) 2008 Sabrina P. Ramet. Vse pravice pridržane. 2 O rabi kanonizacije v politične namene glej Michael Goodich, »The Politics of Canonization in the
Spinoza, Pufendorf and Locke all championed freedom of thought (including freedom of religion) an... more Spinoza, Pufendorf and Locke all championed freedom of thought (including freedom of religion) and of speech; all three thinkers deserve credit for having forged the fundamental principles of the liberal tradition. Spinoza, in particular, was the first writer in modern times to articulate a systematic defence of democracy. He believed that the state should promote the welfare of its citizens, while maximising their freedom. Although he equated right with power, he also advocated respect for the moral law, stressing the importance of being good to other people.
How successful or unsuccessful has Macedonia been since its declaration of independence in 1991? ... more How successful or unsuccessful has Macedonia been since its declaration of independence in 1991? The question sounds simple enough. At first glance, one is inclined to say that it has been unusually unsuccessful, even by Balkan standards. The country has been blocked by Greece in its quest to join the European Union (EU) and NATO, was forced -again by Greece -to change its flag and modify its constitution to renounce territorial aspirations it never nurtured, and was admitted to the United Nations only under the humiliating name Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia -a designation which suggests to Macedonians that their state is a kind of pariah. Then there is the fact that 30.4 per cent of its people were living below the poverty line in 2011 (see the Introduction to this volume). Again, as noted in the Introduction, Macedonia's ranking on press freedom in 2015 was the lowest among the seven Yugoslav successor states. And finally, there is the extent of corruption through which the ruling party has maintained itself in power since 2006 (detailed below in the subsection Allegations of Abuse of Power and in the section Political Transformation II below). 1 Except where otherwise noted, all internet sources cited herein were accessed during the period 4-7 November 2014.
Since the election of the right-wing government in Poland in 2015, the polarization between secul... more Since the election of the right-wing government in Poland in 2015, the polarization between secularism and clericalism has sharpened, with an access to abortion figuring as the pivotal issue for both sides. Clericals (conservatives) want to see any legislation with a moral content conform to Catholic doctrine, while advocates of secularism-liberals, broadly understood-hold that the laws of Poland should not be guided by the Catholic Church. Since 2020, the fight over abortion has sparked an insurrection by women. At issue is nothing less than the future character of democracy in Poland.
The 19th century was a time of rapid population growth in the United States, and much of it was d... more The 19th century was a time of rapid population growth in the United States, and much of it was due to immigration from Europe. In the 1840s and 1850s, the largest proportion of immigrants came from Ireland and Germany, and most were Catholic. The Germans spread across small communities as far west as Wisconsin and Texas, but the Irish concentrated in the larger cities on the eastern seaboard, especially Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Local third- and fourth-generation Protestant immigrants from England resented the new arrivals and organized “Nativist” associations. Among these was the anti-Catholic American Party, better known as the Know Nothing Party, which enjoyed spectacular success in Massachusetts and other states during 1854–1855. But, by 1862, the party was dead. This article examines how moral panic theory, the theory of persistent cultural patterns and cycles, and revitalization theory may offer insights into the Know Nothing Party. Each of these theories...
Although Heidegger was influenced by a number of thinkers, above all ancient Greeks and nineteent... more Although Heidegger was influenced by a number of thinkers, above all ancient Greeks and nineteenth‐century Germans, the fragments of the pre‐Socratic philosophers Heraclitus and Parmenides exerted a particular fascination on Heidegger. Revolted by what he considered the superficiality of bourgeois life and the spiritual decline of the West, Heidegger wanted to demolish that society, looked to the Nazis to effect a revolution in politics, and drew inspiration for his Nazism from the pre‐Socratics. In the process, he rejected the moral universalism of Kant, distorted Nietzsche’s thinking, and marshaled the pre‐Socratics in support of his call on Germans to accept their destiny and undertake their mission to struggle for glory and for spiritual rejuvenation. Heidegger’s interpretation of Heraclitus and Parmenides was, thus, an integral component of his particular brand of Nazism.
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