Module Title: Buddhism, power, and politics in Southeast Asia
Module Leader: Dr Tomas Larsson
Module Description:
The purpose of this course is to explore the relationship between religious traditions and cosmological ideas, on the one hand, and political orders, practices, and institutions, on the other hand. It does so by familiarizing students with a distinct, non-European civilizational context: the predominantly Theravada Buddhist societies in mainland Southeast Asian (i.e., Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos). “Power” provides the conceptual focal point for the course. This might seem odd. Many associate Buddhism with peace, mindfulness, selflessness, and nirvana. Buddhism is therefore often understood as antithetical to the accumulation and exercise of power. Indeed, Max Weber described Buddhism as apolitical or even anti-political. In contrast, the readings students will engage with in this course will highlight how political life in mainland Southeast Asia is culturally embedded in Buddhist conceptions of what power is, how it is accumulated, and the purposes for which it should be utilized. The course will cover a broad range of substantive topics central to the study of comparative politics and international relations, such as state formation, war, colonialism, diplomacy, democracy, dictatorship, and human rights.