Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Palgrave Macmillan
Book cover

Buddhism and the Political Process

  • Book
  • © 2016

Overview

Editors:
  1. Hiroko Kawanami

    1. Lancaster University, UK

    View editor publications

    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (11 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxii
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction to Buddhism and the Political Process: Patterns of Interaction

    • Ian Harris
    Pages 1-10

  3. On Being a Monk and a Citizen in Thailand and China

    • Thomas Borchert
    Pages 11-30

  4. U Nu’s Liberal Democracy and Buddhist Communalism in Modern Burma

    • Hiroko Kawanami
    Pages 31-55

  5. Buddhist Monks and Democratic Politics in Contemporary Myanmar

    • Matthew J. Walton
    Pages 56-77

  6. Buddha or the Ballot: The Buddhist Exception to Universal Suffrage in Contemporary Asia

    • Tomas Larsson
    Pages 78-96

  7. Particularist Goals through Universalist Means: The Political Paradoxes of Buddhist Revivalism in Sri Lanka

    • Iselin Frydenlund
    Pages 97-120

  8. The ‘Army of Buddhist Power’ in Sri Lankan Politics

    • Mahinda Deegalle
    Pages 121-144

  9. The Buddhist State of Exception

    • Michael Jerryson
    Pages 145-166

  10. Tibetan Buddhist Leadership: Recent Developments in Historical Context

    • Bruce M. Knauft
    Pages 167-190

  11. Feeding a Scapegoat? The Political Function of Amoghavajra’s Ritual Services in Protecting the Country

    • Martin Lehnert
    Pages 191-212

  12. Opium Eaters: Buddhism as Revolutionary Politics

    • James Mark Shields
    Pages 213-234

  13. Back Matter

    Pages 235-266
    Download chapter PDF
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

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.

Reviews

“This is an important and scholarly collection of case studies – a fitting memorial to Ian Harris – which should finally put to bed the notion that there can only be one kind of relationship between Buddhism and politics, namely, avoidance and pacifist moral guidance.” (David N. Gellner, Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Oxford, UK)

“These essays cover a wide range of cases from throughout the Buddhist world and show that from statecraft to rebellion, Buddhist activists have been engaged in all levels of public life. This is an essential book for anyone concerned about the role of religion in politics around the globe.” (Mark Juergensmeyer, Professor of Sociology and Global Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA)

“The contributions … demonstrate well that Buddhism has had a long history of adapting to, shaping, and reacting to political authority as well as occasionally fostering true detachment from such authority.” (Charles Keyes, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and International Studies, University of Washington, USA)

Editors and Affiliations

  • Lancaster University, UK

    Hiroko Kawanami

About the editor

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.

Bibliographic Information

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation