This pathless hour: Messianism, anarchism, Zionism, and Martin Buber's theopolitics reconsidered

The concept of "theopolitics" appears throughout the biblical writings of Martin Buber, but has been little-studied in comparison with his famous philosophy of dialogue. Theopolitics is a form of action that seeks to actualize the kingship of God, while simultaneously denying any theological legitimation to permanent human political structures. This thesis takes theopolitics as an orienting concept of Buberian thought: explicating its presence in Kingship of God, the most conventionally scholarly of his works; showing its roots in the German anarchism of Buber's friend Gustav Landauer; and following its application in Buber's idiosyncratic Zionism. Finally, the thesis argues that Buber's theopolitics can intervene in contemporary debates about political theology, liberalism, and religious warfare in a secular age.