Recent proposals concerning Confucian meritocratic perfectionism have justified Confucian perfectionism in terms of political meritocracy. In contrast, 'Confucian democratic perfectionism' is a form of comprehensive Confucian perfectionism that can accommodate a plurality of values in civil society. It is also fully compatible with core values of democracy such as popular sovereignty, political equality, and the right to political participation. Sungmoon Kim presents 'public reason Confucianism' as the most attractive option for contemporary East Asian societies that are historically and culturally Confucian. Public reason Confucianism is a particular style of Confucian democratic perfectionism in which comprehensive Confucianism is connected with perfectionism via a distinctive form of public reason. It calls for an active role for the democratic state in promoting a Confucian conception of the good life, at the heart of which are such core Confucian values as filial piety and ritual
Recent proposals concerning Confucian meritocratic perfectionism have justified Confucian perfectionism in terms of political meritocracy. In contrast, 'Confucian democratic perfectionism' is a form of comprehensive Confucian perfectionism that can accommodate a plurality of values in civil society. It is also fully compatible with core values of democracy such as popular sovereignty, political equality, and the right to political participation. Sungmoon Kim presents 'public reason Confucianism' as the most attractive option for contemporary East Asian societies that are historically and culturally Confucian. Public reason Confucianism is a particular style of Confucian democratic perfectionism in which comprehensive Confucianism is connected with perfectionism via a distinctive form of public reason. It calls for an active role for the democratic state in promoting a Confucian conception of the good life, at the heart of which are such core Confucian values as filial piety and ritual
In the middle decades of the twentieth century, Asia was at the heart of international efforts to create a new utopia: a world free from disease. Positioned at the unexplored boundary between internat
This book examines a fundamental contradiction at the heart of Japan’s security strategy. In recent years, Japan has, with US support, developed a missile defence system, which the Japanese argue is e
Wings Over Asia: A Brief History of the Chinese National Aviation Corporation is a sometimes moving, sometimes rollicking, sometimes heart-stopping, account of a critical part of the history of WWII.
This book is a study of minority subjective experiences in China, contributing to the literature on ethnic studies in China. Empirically, it examines what Uyghur Muslims think of spousal relations and
The former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan in the heart of Central Asia is home to the city of Osh, which is commonly discussed as an epicenter of radical Islamism and political instability, yet also fu
Shadow of the Silk Road records a journey along the greatest land route on earth. Out of the heart of China into the mountains of Central Asia, across northern Afghanistan and the plains of Iran and
In this powerful, but accessible new study, John Bowen draws on a full range of work in social anthropology to present Islam in ways that emphasise its constitutive practices, from praying and learning to judging and political organising. Starting at the heart of Islam - revelation and learning in Arabic lands - Bowen shows how Muslims have adapted Islamic texts and traditions to ideas and conditions in the societies in which they live. Returning to key case studies in Asia, Africa and Western Europe, to explore each major domain of Islamic religious and social life, Bowen also considers the theoretical advances in social anthropology that have come out of the study of Islam. A New Anthropology of Islam is essential reading for all those interested in the study of Islam and for those following new developments in the discipline of anthropology.
Between 1453 and 1526 Muslims founded three major states in the Mediterranean, Iran and South Asia: respectively the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires. By the early seventeenth century their descendants controlled territories that encompassed much of the Muslim world, stretching from the Balkans and North Africa to the Bay of Bengal and including a combined population of between 130 and 160 million people. This book is the first comparative study of the politics, religion, and culture of these three empires between 1300 and 1923. At the heart of the analysis is Islam, and how it impacted on the political and military structures, the economy, language, literature and religious traditions of these great empires. This original and sophisticated study provides an antidote to the modern view of Muslim societies by illustrating the complexity, humanity and vitality of these empires, empires that cannot be reduced simply to religious doctrine.
Between 1453 and 1526 Muslims founded three major states in the Mediterranean, Iran and South Asia: respectively the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires. By the early seventeenth century their descendants controlled territories that encompassed much of the Muslim world, stretching from the Balkans and North Africa to the Bay of Bengal and including a combined population of between 130 and 160 million people. This book is the first comparative study of the politics, religion, and culture of these three empires between 1300 and 1923. At the heart of the analysis is Islam, and how it impacted on the political and military structures, the economy, language, literature and religious traditions of these great empires. This original and sophisticated study provides an antidote to the modern view of Muslim societies by illustrating the complexity, humanity and vitality of these empires, empires that cannot be reduced simply to religious doctrine.
With an editorial team of leading experts from the American College of Emergency Physicians and the American Heart Association, this book is the first complete, clinically oriented reference textbook
Dark Shadows is a compelling portrait of Kazakhstan, a country that is little known in the West. Strategically located in the heart of Central Asia, sandwiched between Vladimir Putin’s Russia – its fo
Children of the Camps: Japan’s Last Forgotten Victims tells the truly heart-rending stories of Caucasian and Eurasian children who ended up imprisoned inside Japanese internment camps throughout Asia.
In these wide-ranging tales from a life on the road, Vietnam vet and ?adventure eater” Richard Sterling takes the reader deep into the heart of cultures, from Asia to Africa to North America. Whether
In this powerful, but accessible new study, John Bowen draws on a full range of work in social anthropology to present Islam in ways that emphasise its constitutive practices, from praying and learning to judging and political organising. Starting at the heart of Islam - revelation and learning in Arabic lands - Bowen shows how Muslims have adapted Islamic texts and traditions to ideas and conditions in the societies in which they live. Returning to key case studies in Asia, Africa and Western Europe, to explore each major domain of Islamic religious and social life, Bowen also considers the theoretical advances in social anthropology that have come out of the study of Islam. A New Anthropology of Islam is essential reading for all those interested in the study of Islam and for those following new developments in the discipline of anthropology.
In this book (previously published under the title Living Buddhist Masters), Jack Kornfield presents the heart of Buddhist practice as taught by twelve highly respected masters from Southeast Asia,
"This is an indispensable book in helping us understand the new world disorder that seems to be overtaking us. Juergensmeyer points out that much of the world neither understands nor finds attractive the idea of a 'secular state.' He helps us see that religious nationalism is a fact of life that will be with us for a long time to come. Deconstructing any simple notion of 'fundamentalism,' he shows us how it is possible to live with religious nationalism constructively without demonizing it. That is a major achievement."--Robert Bellah, co-author of Habits of the Heart"This penetrating analysis of the relationship of religious movements to political developments demonstrates how new forms of nationalism, rooted in indigenous religious and cultural traditions, are challenging the western model of the secular state in the Middle East, South Asia, and Eastern Europe. Because there is, Juergensmeyer argues, no satisfactory compromise between the religious vision of the national state and th
A dynamic chapter of church history is now being written in Asia. But the theological inflections at its heart are not well understood by outsiders. The published voices of elite academic theologians
Insight Guide The Silk Road is the complete illustrated guide to one of the world's ultimate travel adventures. Passing right through the heart of Asia, this ancient trade route traverses a quarter of
