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The American political scientist Samuel P. Huntington published the book "The Clash of
Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order" in 1996. This book offers an interesting
thesis that civilizational differences would become the primary fault line of international
relations in the post-Cold War era. According to Huntington, a civilization is a broad range of
cultures with a shared heritage, language, history, and, most importantly, values and beliefs.
He argues that when the world becomes more interconnected, civilizations interact more and
therefore increasing the potential for conflict. The first part of this essay will look at
Huntington’s key points. The second part will evaluate Huntington's theory, which has been
Clash of Civilizations
disagreements among states after the cold war would develop on civilizational grounds.
According to him, the world consists of separate civilizations founded upon their social traits,
religion, and history; thereby, the major cause for international relations will come from those
societies. According to Huntington, civilizational differences run deeper and last longer than
political, economic, or any ideological affiliations. He argues that such as cultural and
religious orientations determine the values of the society which ultimately influence people’s
personal beliefs and behavior. Huntington argues that as the process of globalisation
advances, more people shall develop pride in their civilizational inheritance which they wish
to safeguard at all costs resulting into conflicts between rival civilizations. He notes about
different civilizations namely, western, islamic, confucian, hindu and others, having their own
culture and religion traits. Huntington claims that the major and strongest confrontation will
be on the clashing grounds of the Muslim civilization and the West which are based mainly
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upon the historical tension between them. He contends that the Islamic culture with its
inherent cultural identity would challenge the domination of the West and its values.
Huntington further proposes that cultural and religious identities play a pivotal role in driving
identify themselves in terms of their culture and religion, these identities become part of their
worldview and influence their relations with others. Not all can be reconciled by compromise
and negotiation when the people are from different cultures and religions, which they
perceptions on right, truth, or society and that this may cause conflicts once these differences
happen. In addition, he argues that the basis of civilization is rooted in the cultural and
religious values that often supersede the political and economic affiliations, and which
Thirdly, Huntington postulates that the weight of the west, especially the American power,
will reduce or subside as non-western societies proffer their values and cultural identities.
Huntington attributes the decline of the West to the following four reasons. The first element
and Hindu civilizations, are also asserting more forcefully on their cultural values and
identities. In order to assert their cultural independence, these civilizations become confident
and resist the prevalent Western culture. The other factor is the “Economic Growth”.
particularly East Asia, has contributed to their rising influence. Economic giants such as
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China and the “Asian Tigers” have emerged on the map and their growing economic muscle
threatens Western economic supremacy, reordering world economic relations. The third
factor is the “Rejecting of Western Universalism”. Huntington argues that it is the refusal to
accept the Western universalism which purportedly prescribes liberalism and market
save their own political and cultural identity. The last factor is called the “Western Internal
Challenges”. The western societies also face internal challenges such as social fragmentation,
cultural relativism and lack of confidence in their values and institutions. The problems faced
by the west and the development of others civilizations leads to the downfall of the West.
According to these indicators, Huntington says that a non-Western world order would emerge
in which people with a different culture and value system reject Western universalism.
Islamic Challenge
Finally, he points out the “Islamic Challenge” as a major cause of tension in the “post-cold
war era”. He contends that the Islamic civilization is dissimilar to the West and this is
historically, culturally, and religiously. Notwithstanding, this argument has received criticism
from scholars. The Crusades, the spread of Islam in Europe; the colonization of the Muslim
countries by Europe. He argues that such encounters in history underpinned the way Islam
views the West, resulting in present conflicts and problems. Huntington highlights other
elements that make up the Islamic threat such as the different ideologies, religious principles,
and political structures. The author contends that Islam is a leading religion in most
Muslim-dominated nations, thus, it shapes the politics and society which clashes with the
western values of secularism, democracy and personal liberties. In addition, he says that
Islamic resurgence or political Islam constitute a challenge to the western type of government
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Huntington’s thesis has attracted a lot of controversy and criticism. Some believe in his views
but others do not and they consider civilization as one whole and predictable.
His theory on civilizational clashes has attracted much criticism, with critics saying that it is
oversimplification that it views global conflicts as just matters of culture and religion. It is
true that there are cultural and religious aspects in conflicts; however, these are not the only
causes. Besides these, political, economic and social factors also play a major role in the
resources, historical differences, as well as ideological disagreements are also some of the
many causes for conflicts. These factors are interdependent, hence only focusing on
civilizational fault lines is not enough to understand them. In not considering these varied
interrelations, Huntington’s argument only explains the basic cause and complexity of
conflict.
Intra-Civilizational Conflicts
In addition, the examples of civil wars happening within the same civilizations deny
history, civil wars have arisen due to ethnic, religious, and political differences. For instance,
the American Civil War in the same civilization exemplifies a civil war. This happened
among the northern states of the United States (Union) and the southern states
(Confederacy).1 The war was fought in spite of sharing the same American identity,
especially on differences between the issues such as slavery, states’ rights, and regional
1
Weber, J. L., & Hassler, W. W. (2023, November 17). American Civil War | History, Summary, Dates,
Causes, Map, Timeline, Battles, Significance, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/event/American-Civil-War
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economic discrepancies. The other examples include Spanish Civil War (1936-1939),
Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) and Yugoslav Wars (1991-2001).2 These examples
demonstrate that conflicts and civil wars can arise within societies sharing a common
Moreover, critics argue that Huntington's depiction of civilizations as monolithic entities with
fixed characteristics overlooks the fluidity and internal dynamics within civilizations.
Civilizations are not simple in that they contain many subcultures, regional variations, and
different understandings of their religious and culture. In one civilization, there can be
considerable differences in terms of values, beliefs, and practices. For example, within the
Western civilization, there are diverse cultural traditions and practices across countries like
the United States, France, Germany, and Italy. The cultural diversity includes language, art
and literature, cuisine, festivals and celebrations, folks and traditional practices and historical
and architectural heritage etc. These differences can lead to diverse attitudes towards other
civilizations and may even generate conflicts within the same civilization. Huntington's
theory fails to account for the internal debates, transformations, and evolving dynamics
within civilizations. Over time, civilizations can adapt, change, and incorporate ideas and
practices from other civilizations. This dynamic nature challenges the fixed and static
than one identity and affiliation apart from their civilizational association. For example, the
individual was born in America, but their parents were immigrants from Mexico. Thus, they
may identify themselves as Americans and also identify with their Mexican heritage. While it
is possible that their cultural identity may encompass a blend of American and Mexican
2
List of civil wars. (2023, November 17). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_civil_wars
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influences. Ethnicity, nationality, class, beliefs, and personal characteristics influence the
behavior and attitude of individuals. Multiple identities can have a bearing on how
individuals interact with other civilizations and make the idea of “civilizational fault lines”
difficult to grasp.
Additionally, civilizations are not that distinct and separate anymore nowadays. Critics
contend that with the advent of globalisation, interconnectedness and blurring of the
civilizational boundaries, the pure civilizational clash has been replaced by hybrid identities.
Through globalization, ideas, values, and cultural practices have been sharing boundaries.
This has resulted in higher cultural diffusion, which means that some features from one
civilization are incorporated into another. Consequently, people can have more cultural
associations and identities that are beyond the scope of a single civilization. For example, the
global popularity of K-pop (Korean pop music) showcases the cultural diffusion of Korean
music. The other important factor in the shaping of cultural interactions include migration
and diaspora communities, such as the Chinese diaspora. As such, it refers to the large
diaspora composed of Chinese migrants who live in different places throughout the world.
The biggest Chinese diaspora communities are found in the United States, Canada, Australia,
New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, among others.3 They maintain connections to
Chinese language, values, customs, cuisine, and festivals. Cultural institutions, such as
Chinese schools, temples, community centers, and associations, are established to facilitate
cultural preservation and provide support networks for the diaspora communities. The
existence of different civilizations within a certain location gives rise to cultural exchange
and hybridization due to interaction among different races. Therefore, Huntington’s thesis
3
Chinese Diaspora. (n.d.). https://www.culturaldiplomacy.org/academy/index.php?chinese-diaspora
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stating that the civilizations as isolated or independent units with distinct boundaries may not
be accurate anymore.
Conclusion
World Order" presents a compelling thesis that civilizational differences would become the
new fault line of international relations in the post-Cold War era. However, critical evaluation
consider multiple factors beyond cultural and religious identities. Understanding the
complexities of global conflicts requires a nuanced approach that acknowledges the fluidity
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REFERENCE
Book
Fouseki, K. (2006). The fluidity of civilizations: The clash of civilizations and the limits of a
Hall, J. A. (2012). The problem with Huntington: Misunderstanding civilizations and the
Huntington, S. P. (2011). The clash of civilizations and the remaking of world order. Simon &
Schuster.
661-684.
Website
Weber, J. L., & Hassler, W. W. (2023, November 17). American Civil War | History,
Summary, Dates, Causes, Map, Timeline, Battles, Significance, & Facts. Encyclopedia
Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/American-Civil-War
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_civil_wars
https://www.culturaldiplomacy.org/academy/index.php?chinese-diaspora