Religion, historie og filosofi
Taking Territory499,-529,Taking Territory is an eye-opening account of why territorial conquest remains a phenomenon today. The end of World War II seemingly brought about a decline of territorial conquest. Many have argued that a strong territorial integrity norm in the postwar era explains this decline. Yet as Dan Altman shows, states have seized territory numerous times since 1945. Large-scale conquests have waned, but small, targeted seizures have persisted. The relationship between conquest and war has also shifted. While states attempting conquest before 1945 often initiated war, then sought to occupy large territories, challengers today more often seize small regions, then try to avoid war. This strategy, the fait accompli, has become the predominant mode of conquest. Drawing on his own original data consisting of 175 conquest attempts between 1918 and 2024, Altman explains why conquest persists, what motivates it, when it turns violent, and when it succeeds. He shows how miscalculated faits accomplis have sparked many post-1945 wars and why the motives behind many territorial grabs are often about image, domestic politics, and the ambitions of military officers. Incisive and illuminating, Taking Territory cuts against what we think we know about post-1945 conquest to reveal its true causes and consequences.Published: March 9, 2026 08:04Other BrandReligion, historie og filosofi
- Lords of Life979,-1029,Written by one of the leading scholars of Japanese religion, Lords of Life is the fifth and last book of a multivolume project that stands as a milestone in our understanding of the mythico-ritual system of esoteric Buddhism—specifically the nature and roles of deities within the religious landscape of medieval Japan and beyond. Bernard Faure introduces readers to medieval Japanese religiosity, highlighting the central role of gods in religious discourse and ritual. In doing so, he departs from traditional textual, historical, and sociological approaches that constitute the "method" of current religious studies. Instead, Faure draws on theoretical insights from structuralism, post-structuralism, and Actor-Network Theory to retrieve the "implicit pantheon" (as opposed to the "explicit orthodox pantheon") of esoteric Japanese Buddhism (Mikkyo). In the earlier volumes—The Fluid Pantheon and Predators and Protectors— Faure argued against a polarity or dichotomy between buddhas and kami by emphasizing the existence of deities that did not belong to either category, and he rejected the retrospective notion of "hybridity." In Rage and Ravage, he made a similar case about the reified distinction between gods and demons to show that, due to the fluid nature of the Japanese pantheon, these terms do not represent stable identities: gods can become demons, and demons are sometimes deified. From Stars to Stones, the fourth volume, showed how mythological notions influenced (and in return were transformed by) medieval Japanese religion and the performing arts (geino). In this final book, Lords of Life, Faure explores the concept of surveillance in Daoism and Buddhism, the significance of the gods of destiny, and how they transform the official, or frontal, Buddhist doctrine of karma. This perspective offers a distinctive view of Buddhism, approaching it as if through a "back door." Throughout this monumental series, Faure expertly weaves together religion's various strands to underscore his argument that Japanese religion cannot be fully understood by relying solely on abstract categories like "Buddhism" and "Shinto," despite convention and convenience.Published: March 9, 2026 08:04Other BrandReligion, historie og filosofi
Nurses Among the Florida Seminole and Miccosukee, 1934–1971979,-1029,Exploring the stories of nurses who served Florida’s Indigenous communities during the Great Depression and the decades of change that followedIn this intersectional history, Christine Ardalan tells the stories of nurses who worked among the Seminole and Miccosukee people in Florida during the mid-twentieth century. Ardalan profiles three US government field nurses, several public health nurses, and the Seminole practical nurse Betty Mae Tiger Jumper. Ardalan’s analysis offers insights into the tensions between the white nurses and their supervisors, cultural differences between them and the communities they served, and the ways they often reinforced settler-colonial ideologies. Ardalan looks at the work of the US nurses together with that of Betty Mae Tiger Jumper, who led the effort to respect traditional practices alongside government clinical care. Tiger Jumper cemented the healthcare message that the people themselves should determine their own paths toward healthfulness and well-being. The book concludes in 1971, when the Seminole Tribe of Florida assumed control of its health services. The information in this book contributes to the history of nursing and of Florida’s Indigenous communities during a period of great change.Published: March 9, 2026 08:04Other BrandReligion, historie og filosofi