Theorising subjectivity through rituals

How are power and the boundaries of political communities (re)defined through rituals (and vice versa)? The project has a substantial focus on two elements: (i) the constitutive role of rituals in the establishment and exercise of power and authority on the one hand, and (ii) the creation of subjectivity and community on the other. Moreover, and crucially, whereas usually the emphasis lies with the stabilising effect of rituals, as a conservation and reaffirmation of existing orders, the international political order is always in process of becoming, and thus always prone to dislocation. As a second leg in this project we also seek to explore how rituals can work to stabilise but importantly also disrupt orders.