Articles
2024
Bojidar Kolov, Ecclesiastical populism in contemporary Russia?
The image of ‘the people’ has occupied a central place in the discourse of the contemporary Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) for many years. However, the ROC’s ecclesiastical ‘populism’ has not been systematically analyzed. The study at hand aims to fill this gap by examining the representations of ‘the people’ articulated at the Bishops’ Council of the ROC in the last three decades. Following and modifying Ernesto Laclau and his followers’ approach to studying populism, the analysis of the Council’s documents shows that the official Church plays a dual language game, simultaneously constructing a hegemonic order in Russia and its alleged ‘civilizational space’ and promoting a seemingly counter-hegemonic project in global politics. However, the role of ‘the people’ in this setting is far from Laclau’s conception of radical popular agency. Instead, the Bishops’ Council calls for the preservation of traditional identities and local hierarchies in order to ensure Russia’s continuity and greatness. Thus, the official Church has been contributing to the elitist, statist, and great-power nationalist hegemony in Russia.
Books
2021
Anne Stensvold (ed.), Blasphemies Compared
The volume "Blasphemies ComparedTransgressive Speech in a Globalised World" (routledge.com) examines both historical developments and contemporary expressions of blasphemy across the world, and looks at how religious and political authorities use ideas about blasphemy as a means of control.
2020
Aike P. Rots and Mark Teeuwen (eds), Sacred Heritage in Japan
Sacred Heritage in Japan is the first volume to explicitly address the topics of Japanese religion and heritage preservation in connection with each other. It examines what happens when places of worship and ritual practices are rebranded as national culture.