1 / 8

Clash of Civilizations

Clash of Civilizations. Focuses on culture and identity Sees severe limits to interdependence Samuel Huntington book 1996 What lay beyond Cold War? Globalization + resistance to it Highly influential and controversial argument. Huntington’s Argument.

Download Presentation

Clash of Civilizations

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Clash of Civilizations • Focuses on culture and identity • Sees severe limits to interdependence • Samuel Huntington book 1996 • What lay beyond Cold War? • Globalization + resistance to it • Highly influential and controversial argument

  2. Huntington’s Argument • Traditional sources of state conflict receding • Territory, economic benefits, ideology • Politics of identity replacing politics of interest • Main competing groups no longer states, classes or ideologies but civilizations

  3. What is a civilization? • Largest entity with which person can identify short of humanity • Defined by common ancestry, values, language, and/or religion • Major civilizations • Sinic/Chinese, Japanese, Hindu, Western, Slavic-Orthodox, Islam • Latin America and Africa candidates for civilization

  4. Relations among Civilizations Changing • No longer defined by Western influence on other civilizations • West declining • economic slowdown, population decline, internal decay, loss of identity • Sinic and Islamic civilizations ascending • Economic success of Asia • Demographic explosion in Islamic world • Balance of power shifting

  5. Why Civilizations Will Clash • Difference real and basic • World smaller due to globalization • Nation-state as source of identity weaker • Fundamentalist religion stronger • Backlash against West enhances civilization consciousness • Economic regionalism growing • Western policies exacerbate relations • Non-proliferation, human rights, immigration, others

  6. Summary of Argument • Civilization identities not only identities • Nation states will not disappear • Civilizations not coherent or conflict-free • But differences among civilizations real • Civilization-consciousness growing • Civilization conflict will be dominant global form of conflict • Major axis of relations between “West and Rest” • No universal civilization possible

  7. Other Post-Cold War Views • One Harmonious World • triumph of liberal democracy, end of major power warfare, interdependence and peace • Two Worlds: Us and Them • North-South; rich-poor • 184 States – The Realist View • State system dominates global relations • Sheer Chaos • Kaplan’s “Coming Anarchy

  8. Critiques of Clash of Civilizations • Some events challenge it • Unclear how to distinguish civilizations • Globalization can lead to convergence and synthesis of cultures • Not all cultures aspire to imperial power • Overstates West’s decline • Exaggerates Islam’s militancy • Major conflicts within civilizations • Economic cooperation across civilizations • Lack of democratic institutions is real problem in Islamic world

More Related