Religion and state-formation in transitional societies

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"This book focuses on a topic concerning the connection between religion, state and violence. Using the example of Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka, the author pursues three thematic complexes: (1) Why does the modern state become the target of violence linked to religion? (2) What role does religion play in the process of state-building? (3) Why do religiously motivated political actors behave so differently from conventional politicians? The response to these questions is the main concern of this book. The general question in the background could be: Where is human "rationality" when political action implies the death of the actor?"--Page 7.