Abstract
While for a long time the organization of people in nation-states was seen as the ultimate aim of politics, the dark sides of nation-states were overemphasized during the last decades, almost completely overshadowing the benefits of the very same project. Peter Sloterdijk described the change which is underway with the metaphor of the bubble, the globe and the postmodern foam. While societies in modern nation-states showed a strong coherence, resulting in political agency through the organization of those states, and a strong feeling of belonging, the inhabitants of postmodern countries live in their own, small bubbles and cannot identify with any larger social organization anymore. While authoritarian states can compensate the lack of participation of their citizens by force and suppression for a while, such top-down systems seem not to work for a long time. Scholars dealing with ancient and recent history were always amazed by historical events, in which a tiny group of people managed to overcome a huge number of enemies.
But meantime the Babylonian realm itself passed from hand to hand. Kassites, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Medes, Persians, Macedonians—all of these small warrior-hosts under energetic leaders—successively replaced one another in the capital city without any serious resistance on the part of its people (Oswald Spengler, The Decline of the West II, 1928, 40).
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Notes
- 1.
The German original reads “Aber indessen ging die babylonische Welt selber aus einer Hand in die andere. Kossäer, Assyrer, Chaldäer, Meder, Perser, Makedonier, lauter kleine Heerhaufen mit einem kräftigen Führer an der Spitze, haben sich da in der Hauptstadt abgelöst, ohne daß die Bevölkerung sich ernsthaft dagegen wehrte (Spengler, 1972, 602).
- 2.
- 3.
In Mesopotamia, this spread of city culture is described as the “Uruk Expansion” or “Uruk Phenomenon”. For a recent analysis, see Selz (2020).
- 4.
- 5.
Fink (2021) describes the early development in Mesopotamia.
- 6.
Using the term “empire” in the context of Ancient Mesopotamia should be done very carefully and with the clear understanding that empires in modern and ancient contexts are different phenomena—see Sazonov (2019, 31).
- 7.
On Greek self-perception in Classical times, see Tuplin (1999).
- 8.
Examples range from Saddam Hussein’s or Hosni Mubarak’s regime to the Soviet Union and the authoritarian regimes of Assad in Syria and Gaddafi in Libya.
- 9.
As was also the case in old empires.
- 10.
For the twentieth century, see the impressive analysis by Rummel (1997).
- 11.
See Bichler (2020), Gehrke (2004), for a first overview, see https://www.livius.org/articles/battle/gaugamela-331-bce/.
- 12.
For source references, see Bichler (2020).
- 13.
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) or Daesh (its Arabic language acronym). For more on ISIS, see also Burke (2015).
- 14.
Born Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh, known also as Sheikh of the Slaughters—for more about ISIS, see Weiss and Hassan (2015).
- 15.
Group of Monotheism and Jihad.
- 16.
Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi was killed in February 2022.
- 17.
Secretary General of the Islamic Dawa Party, the Prime Minister of Iraq 2006–2014.
- 18.
See more: Daesh propaganda, before and after its collapse. Countering violent extremism (2019). Zgryziewicz et al. (2015) and Zgryziewicz (2016) have highlighted the nature and tactics of ISIS’s information warfare. ISIS has used visuals, words and actions to shape the information environment it uses. Additionally, ISIS has adopted a strategy of creating its own version of the symbols used by internationally recognised states, i.e., flag, anthem, emblem and organisational structure. These are an essential part of ISIS’s communication strategy. This terrorist group promotes its good governance, the statements of support of other recognised organisations in its support community and its operational success.
- 19.
See more on structure of ISIS—Reuters (2015).
- 20.
The roots of this complex situation in Iraq lie partly in the events of 2003 but also, and largely, in earlier history—primarily in the twentieth century. When the Western coalition overthrew Saddam Hussein in 2003, they did not take into consideration that opposition to him was weak and divided and that, after the Ba’ath Party and Saddam disappeared from the political scene, the former opposition groups were not capable of normal cooperation with each other.
- 21.
See Gotschall (2012) who speaks of the human as “the storytelling animal”.
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Fink, S., Sazonov, V. (2023). Political Culture and Political Agency: From Gaugamela to Mosul. In: Mölder, H., Voinea, C.F., Sazonov, V. (eds) Producing Cultural Change in Political Communities. Contributions to Political Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43440-2_4
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