Theopolitical Figures

Abstract

This book is intended to be a contribution to the theological turn in political philosophy. It reinscribes contemporary political concepts and experiences in the ‘theological locus’ from which they supposedly come and at the same time looks for alternative semantic derivations for the political theory and practice. The discursive trajectory of the book has engaged with the discussions of different continental philosophers, theologians and historians of the twentieth century. Moreover, the book explores the extent to which theological discourse has been, and continues to be, relevant in shaping the meanings, symbols and realities of certain instituted political practices. This relevance has historically manifested itself in the hybridisation of theological and political concepts, images, gestures, and rituals. Combining theological and political concepts, the book shows that some divine traces are embedded in institutionalised political practices. It argues that these theopolitical figures – scripture, prophecy, oath, charisma and hospitality – should be read negatively as other names of God, in the sense of a negative theology, in the post-secular world. By analysing the symbolic meaning of these figures, Theopolitical Figures sheds new light on crucial questions for contemporary societies, such as the unconditional character of justice, the unfeasibility of historical expectation, the stability of the word, the idea of power as a gift, and openness to otherness as an ethical-political imperative.