Special Topics in Political Theory: Sovereignty and Sacrality

In Political Science, sovereignty is often understood
to be a quality exclusive to states. Its origins,
however, can be traced to the political theology
concerning the sacrality of kings and priests as holy
and inviolable objects of veneration. What was the
theological function of ‘sacrality’? Does sacrality
confer immunity and absolute powers? How and when does
sacrality become a legal and political concept? Are we
witnessing a revival of sacrality and a politics of
veneration in the logic of constitutional and
international law?
Seminar readings will (likely) include works by Weber,
Durkheim, Figgis, Schmitt, Kantorowicz, Agamben,
Elshtain, Taylor, Koskenniemi as well as primary source
texts (in excerpts) by Bodin, Grotius, Montesquieu,
Rousseau, and Hegel. We will also study select
excerpts of Roman and Canon Law.