Theopolitical Figures: Scripture, Prophecy, Oath, Charisma, Hospitality

The book explores the relevance of theological discourse to the origins of political practices, highlighting the hybridization of theological and political concepts and the presence of divine traces in institutionalized political practices. It examines five theopolitical figures: scripture, prophecy, oath, charisma, and hospitality, and discusses their symbolic meaning in contemporary societies, addressing questions such as the unconditional character of justice, the unfeasibility of historical expectation, the stability of the given word, the idea of power as a gift, and openness to the coming other as an ethical-political imperative.

Format: Hardback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 31 August 2023
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

The book explores the extent to which theological discourse has been and is relevant to the origins of the meanings, symbols, and realities of some instituted political practices. This relevance has historically manifested itself in the hybridization of theological and political concepts, images, gestures, and rituals. Indeed, some divine traces can be seen as embedded in institutionalized political practices. Theopolitical figures, then, are other names for God in the sense of negative theology that we find in instituted practices within the political realm. The book considers five theopolitical figures: scripture, prophecy, oath, charisma, and hospitality. In the symbolic meaning of these figures, we discern some central questions for contemporary societies, among them: the unconditional character of justice, the unfeasibility of historical expectation, the stability of the given word, the idea of power as a gift, and openness to the coming other as an ethical-political imperative.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781399522915