Sovereignty in the 21st Century: Political Theology in an Age of Neoliberalism and Populism

When God is ＂dead＂ and governments themselves are increasingly subject to the power of global corporations, massive movements of peoples, transnational political upheavals, and ecological disasters, what does sovereignty mean for the 21st century? Sovereignty in the 21st Century is Carl Raschke’s deep theoretical dive into the meaning of sovereignty in both its historical and contemporary settings, showing how the idea can be expanded beyond politics and offer emancipatory strategies for previously marginalized peoples.

Picking up Carl Schmitt’s idea of sovereignty’s ’divine’ associations making it an implicitly theological concern, Raschke explains how political and religious thought have always been intertwined. These intertwined strands find their relevance today in debates around class, race and domination, making the question of sovereignty not just a political but a social and economic one. Bringing to light the ways in which great transnational conflicts today are not between authoritarianism and democracy but between neoliberalism and populism, this book brings us closer to a profound understanding of what we truly mean by democracy, or ’popular’ sovereignty in the 21st-century.

Carl Rashke is Professor of Philosophy of Religion and Critical Theory at the University of Denver, USA.