Buddhism and the Political Process - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1137573996 ISBN 13: 9781137573995

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016

Synopsis

This study examines the impact of Buddhism on the political process of Asian countries in recent times. The intersection between Buddhism and politics; religious authority and political power is explored through the engagement of Buddhist monks and lay activists in the process of nation-building, development, and implementation of democracy.

About this title

About the Author

Hiroko Kawanami is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University, UK. She has co-edited Religions in the Modern World (2009, 2016) and Buddhism, International Relief Work, and Civil Society (2013), and is the author of Renunciation and Empowerment of Buddhist Nuns in Myanmar-Burma (2013). She is currently co-writing a book about the communal jurisdiction of non-ordained Buddhist nuns in the southern tradition.

From the Back Cover

In its interpretation of Buddhism both as a cultural heritage and social ideology, this edited volume seeks to understand how Buddhist values and world views have impacted on the political process of many countries in Asia. In their respective work in Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka, China, Japan and Tibet, the contributors engage with an interactive typology originally proposed by the late Ian Harris, to whom the book is dedicated. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, they explore the interaction between Buddhism and politics, religious authority and political power, considering issues that concern the politicization of monks, proliferation of violence, leadership, citizenship, democracy and communalism in order to further understand the interface between Buddhism and politics in modern and contemporary times.

Edition details

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1137573996
• ISBN 13: 9781137573995
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288
• Editor: Kawanami Hiroko