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

<p>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.</p> <p><br></p> <p>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 <a href="http://www.garychartier.net/books/">here</a>.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The Political Animals is hosted by Dr <a href="https://www.jonathancole.com.au/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jonathan Cole</a>, 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 <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/reign-of-god-9780567707468/">The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authority</a> and <a href="https://wipfandstock.com/9781532679346/christian-political-theology-in-an-age-of-discontent/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality</a>.</p> <p>Jonathan posts regularly about political theology, political philosophy and conservatism on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ThePoliticalAnimalsPodcast" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/polanimalspod" rel="ugc noopener norefe