„Die Macht des Heiligen“ als eine Alternative zur Entzauberung? Zu Hans Joas’ Religionstheorie

Berliner Journal für Soziologie - Um die Säkularisierungsthese hat sich in den letzten Jahrzehnten eine hitzige und kontroverse Debatte entwickelt. Anschließend daran hat Hans Joas...     

China and the Regional Counter-Terrorism Structure: An Organizational Analysis

China is a member of the Regional Counter-Terrorism Structure (RCTS), the security organ of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Given China’s issues with Uighur separatists, close relationship with other SCO members such as Russia, and bankrolling of expanded SCO projects in other areas, one might expect RCTS to be a hub of Chinese-backed security cooperation. Yet it is not so. RCTS has a tiny staff and budget, and lacks the bureaucratic muscle to actually implement most of its broad security mandate. The author argues that this is a consequence of China’s reticence and/or inability to contribute to international security at a level commensurate with its ballooning capabilities.     

The Enigma of Burma's Tatmadaw: A "State Within a State"

Mary Callahan. Making Enemies: War and State Building in Burma. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2003. xxii + 268 pp. Andrew Selth. Burma's Armed Forces: Power without Glory. Norwalk, Conn.: EastBridge, 2002. xxxvii + 371 pp. Since independence from Great Britain in 1948, Burma (Myanmar) has remained one of the most strife-torn but little-researched countries in Asia. This is especially notable in military affairs. As a result, these two ground-breaking books on the Burmese armed forces by American political scientist Mary Callahan and Australian military analyst Andrew Selth fill a long-standing void in Asian studies. They are essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the complex sociopolitical problems of this deeply troubled land. In spite of the unpopularity of the armed forces implied in the titles of both books, they should also be required reading for the country's ruling officers, who have dominated Burma's political destiny for over four decades. Indeed this very scarcity of independent studies, especially those conducted in the field, symbolizes the twin lack of political space and depths of social malaise that have long existed within the country. There is nothing that is necessarily unique about Burma's postcolonial challenges of transition to a modern nation-state. What, perhaps, is more outstanding is how little these issues have been directly discussed among the leading protagonists themselves.