Sowing the Seeds of Sacred

International Relations Studies Series, 2 (International Studies Library, 7) The cultural resource of religion offers an often ignored medium for international legitimacy and hegemony. Political Christianity with its emphasis on spectaculous and revelatory events provides the embeddings for the contemporary American world politics. This book examines how the recent seminal events - i.e. Kosovo, September 11th, Afghanistan, and Iraq - draw from the Western traditions of political religion. The key question is how these cultural resources are used to conserve and animate U.S. leadership and hegemony in world affairs. The result is a fresh overview into to the underpinnings of international relations. Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Epistemology of the Sacred 3. Theoretical Framework: Frames and Flows 4. Political Religion of the American Empire 5. Consumption of the Sacred 6 Sacred Methods of Framing the American Empire 7. Hierophany 8. Commitment 9. Kratophany 10. Decontamination 11. Objectification 12. Managing the Flow of Events 13. Morality Drama of Suspense: Declinism 14. Framing World Politics 15. Kosovo 16. September 11th and the War on Terror 17. Restoring the American Empire About the Author Mika Aaltola, Ph.D. (1999) in International Relations, University of Tampere, Finland, is currently a visiting professor at University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He has published on various aspects of international relations.