Border Crossings Toward a Comparative Political Theory

by Dallmayr, Fred; al-Hibri, Azizah Y.; Arisaka, Yoko; Clarke, John J.; Davutoglu, Ahmet; Dorraj, Manochehr; Euben, Roxanne L.; Fox, Russell Arben; Hirschmann, Nancy J.; Johansen, Robert C.; Jung, Hwa Yol; M. Ling, L H.; Pantham, Thomas; Shih, Chih-Yu

• ISBN13: 9780739100431
• ISBN10: 0739100432
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-08-31
• Publisher: Lexington Books

Summary

Comparative political theory is at best an embryonic and marginalized endeavor. As practiced in most Western universities, the study of political theory generally involves a rehearsal of the canon of Western political thought from Plato to Marx. Only rarely are practitioners of political thought willing (and professionally encouraged) to transgress the canon and thereby the cultural boundaries of North America and Europe in the direction of genuine comparative investigation. Border Crossings presents an effort to remedy this situation, fully launching a new era in political theory. Thirteen scholars from around the world examine the various political traditions of West, South, and East Asia and engage in a reflective cross-cultural discussion that belies the assumptions of an Asian 'essence' and of an unbridgeable gulf between West and non-West. The denial of essential differences does not, however, amount to an endorsement of essential sameness. As viewed and as practiced by contributors to this ground-breaking volume, comparative political theorizing must steer a course between uniformity and radical separation--this is the path of 'border crossings.'

Author Biography

Fred Dallmayr is Packey J. Dee Professor of Government at the University of Notre Dame.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction: Toward a Comparative Political Theory	1	(10)
Fred Dallmayr
Mapping Modernities, ``Islamic'' and ``Western''	11	(28)
Roxanne L. Euben
Eastern Veiling, Western Freedom?	39	(22)
Nancy J. Hirschmann
Islamic Constitutionalism and the Concept of Democracy	61	(28)
Azizah Y. al-Hibri
Rewriting Contemporary Muslim Politics: A Twentieth-Century Periodization	89	(30)
Ahmet Davutoglu
Symbolic and Utilitarian Value of a Tradition: Martyrdom in the Iranian Political Culture	119	(26)
Manochehr Dorraj
Radical Islam and Nonviolence: A Case Study of Religious Empowerment and Constraint	145	(28)
Robert C. Johansen
Indian Secularism and Its Critics: Some Reflections	173	(12)
Thomas Pantham
Confucianism and Communitarianism in a Liberal Democratic Word	185	(28)
Russell Arben Fox
Confucianism with a Liberal Face: Democratic Politics in Postcolonial Taiwan	213	(24)
L. H. M. Ling
Chih-yu Shih
Beyond ``East and West'': Nishida's Universalism and Postcolonial Critique	237	(16)
Yoko Arisaka
Taoist Politics: An Other Way?	253	(24)
John J. Clarke
Postmodernity, Eurocentrism, and the Future of Political Philosophy	277	(20)
Hwa Yol Jung
Index	297	(14)
About the Contributors	311