The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order
Also known as The Clash of Civilizations
Samuel P. Huntington's 1996 book arguing culture and religion drive post-Cold War conflict.
At a glance
Key ideas
Civilizations as the highest identity, Challenger civilizations, Swing civilizations …
See all 5Criticism
Edward Said, Amartya Sen, Paul Berman …
See all 4Connections
Samuel P. Huntington, Francis Fukuyama and The End of History and the Last Man
See all 3
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Huntington argues that cultural and religious identities will be the main source of conflict after the Cold War.
- He divides the world into major civilizations, among them Western, Latin American, Islamic, Sinic, Hindu, Orthodox, Japanese and African.
- Power is shifting from the West to the others, above all to Sinic and Islamic civilization.
- He warns that Western insistence on the universality of its values will antagonise other civilizations.
Why it matters
- It became one of the most debated books on world politics, read as a rival to Fukuyama's end of history; it has been linked to both Islamist strategy and the war on terror.
Key facts
- Author
- Samuel P. Huntington1
- Published
- 19961
- Grew from
- A 1992 lecture at the American Enterprise Institute and the 1993 Foreign Affairs article "The Clash of Civilizations?"1
Key ideas
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Civilizations as the highest identity1
Civilization is the broadest level of cultural identity, and the best lens on conflict.
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Challenger civilizations1
Sinic and Islamic civilizations are rising against the West and may cooperate.
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Swing civilizations1
Russia, Japan and India may side either way.
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Cleft and torn countries1
Some states, such as Ukraine, contain large groups belonging to different civilizations.
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Why civilizations clash1
Deep differences, a smaller world, religion filling the gap left by local identities, and the West at a peak of power.
Criticism
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Edward Said1
In "The Clash of Ignorance" (2001), said fixed civilizations ignore how cultures interact and change.
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Amartya Sen1
Argued that diversity is a feature of most cultures, the West included.
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Paul Berman1
Argued in Terror and Liberalism (2003) that there are no clear civilizational boundaries today.
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Specialists1
Paul Musgrave wrote that few international-relations specialists rely on it.
Connections
Links
Sources
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