![]() | Conflict in a Buddhist Society : Tibet under the Dalai Lamas Conflict in a Buddhist Society presents a new way of looking at Tibet under the rule of the Dalai Lamas (1642-1959). Although this era can be clearly delineated as a distinct period in the history of Tibet, many questions remain concerning the specific form of rule established. Author Peter Schwieger attempts to make transparent the complexity and dynamics of the Dalai Lamas' domination using the work of sociologist Niklas Luhman (1927-1998) as his theoretical starting point. Luhman's systems theory allows Schwieger to approach Tibetan history and culture as a remarkable effort to create--under times of great conflict and stress and using uncommon means--a stable social and political order. Such a methodology provides the distance needed to move beyond event-based narrative history and understand the structures that made social action possible in Tibet and the operations by which its society as a whole distinguished itself from its environment. Peter Schwieger is professor emeritus of Tibetology at the University of Bonn. |
![hidden image for function call](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/1x1.png)