Lieutenant Pinkerton and empire: calling for a new La Convivencia in a post 9/11 hegemony

Abstract

Purpose

Post 9/11 events not only exposed the visible and invisible aspects of the often intertwined self‐interest of political, economic and especially religious elites, but also presented a practical and ideological vacuum susceptible to “once and for all” opportunistic fantasies of ultra and Neo‐conservative, cum religious, fanatics. The purpose of this paper is to counter balance the constant flow of Neo‐liberal and religious‐fundamentalist propaganda that is having a destructive effect on hard‐won civil ideals and democratic freedoms.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a study of the relationship between visible and invisible power in the context of a historical study of the great age of tolerance and co‐existence between Jews, Muslims and Christians. The paper uses Benvenisti's “double history” methodology to recover what is visible on the surface and the “buried history” of what is invisible to discern the implications the Spanish Convivencia has for contemporary debates over political and religious “purity”.

Findings

This paper discovers dangerous signs of a continuing ahistorical hubris amongst elites and others that denies the historical evidence for the possibility of mutual accommodations between political and religious communities. This paper locates the need to recover lost, or discounted, multiple histories and (in)visible portents of a future other than the triumphalism of Western, especially “exceptionalist” US interests.

Research limitations/implications

This paper demonstrates the need for more research into the use/misuse of historical evidence within (in)visible power mechanisms designed to serve ideological and hegemonic interests.

Originality/value

In our uncertain age, this paper is notable for developing a historically grounded vision of a real‐politic new world order based on mutual accommodation and respect.

Citation

Thorne, K. and Kouzmin, A. (2012), "Lieutenant Pinkerton and empire: calling for a new La Convivencia in a post 9/11 hegemony", Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, Vol. 4 No. 2, pp. 183-200. https://doi.org/10.1108/17574321211269306