On Top of the Volcano: Missionary Politics in the Twenty-first Century

This article on comparative politics examines and develops the concept of missionary politics as a contemporary example of the sacralization of politics. Resorting to recent cases in Europe and South America, in this interdisciplinary study the author demonstrates how missionary politics is a form o...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Zúquete, José Pedro (author)
Format: article
Language:eng
Published: 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10451/23180
Country:Portugal
Oai:oai:repositorio.ul.pt:10451/23180
Description
Summary:This article on comparative politics examines and develops the concept of missionary politics as a contemporary example of the sacralization of politics. Resorting to recent cases in Europe and South America, in this interdisciplinary study the author demonstrates how missionary politics is a form of political religion led by charismatic leaders geared towards a mission of salvation, bringing together followers through political liturgy. The article concludes with a discussion on the consequences of this missionary form of conducting politics for the study of religion, populism, nationalism and democracy.