Are States Illegitimate, Dangerous and Unnecessary? Radical Consociationalism, with Prof Gary Chartier

Jonathan is joined by Gary Chartier for a critical dialogue about his forthcoming book, Christianity and the Nation-State: A Study in Political Theology. The book provocatively contends that states are fundamentally illegitimate and dangerous, notwithstanding many Christian attempts at justifying their existence, and that they can be replaced with a stateless world constituted by multiple forces of independent, self-organising, overlapping associations.

Gary Chartier is Distinguished Professor of Law and Business Ethics and Associate Dean of the Tom and Vi Zapara School of Business at La Sierra University, Riverside, California. He is a theologian, philosopher, legal scholar and political theorist. You can find out more about Gary and his writing here.

The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, an academic, writer, speaker and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authority and Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality.

Jonathan posts regularly about political theology, political philosophy and conservatism on Facebook and Twitter.