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In Huntington’s (1993) essay “The Clash of Civilizations?” the political scientist posited that whereas nation states had been aligned previously on cultural terms in the past, in the coming years of the modern world these terms would become disjointed as various cultures emerged or re-asserted themselves. Along these cultural lines, the discourse of modern politics would be situated. In other words, Huntington (1993) viewed the cultures of various civilizations serving as the source of conflict in the coming era. Conflict would not be driven by economics or geopolitical aims but rather by the cultures of the world’s civilizations. This paper will compare and contrast Huntington’s thesis with thesis by Inglehart and Norris (2003) who, in the wake of 9/11, re-assessed Huntington’s idea and found it be half-right; it will argue that Huntington’s thesis remains the correct one and that Inglehart and Norris (2003) are too focused on the minutiae and therefore miss the main point of Huntington’s thesis.
Inglehart and Norris (2003) concede that culture plays a part in the differences between the Western world and the Muslim world, but they pinpoint a precise issue that serves as the ultimate wedge between the two: sex. The researchers state...
63). This argument by Inglehart and Norris (2003) is patently absurd because the West for many years was considered to embrace democratic principles yet it never held the views and attitudes it currently holds towards sex, divorce, abortion or gender equality and gay rights that it holds today. If these are the bulwark of democracy, the Founding Fathers certainly did not view it so. This over-emphasis on sex as the wedge between two warring cultures—the West and the Muslim Middle East—is telling in the sense that it represents the Western obsession with liberal ideas or rather with a liberalized culture that drives the political discourse of the nations’ leaders. This discourse is rejected by nations who do not share the same liberalized culture or liberal ideals—and that is the underlying point of Huntington’s thesis: the wars of tomorrow will be fought upon cultural grounds. Attitudes towards sex are but one manifestation of this culture and the cultural beliefs of…
References
Huntington, S. (1993). The clash of civilizations? Foreign Affairs, 72(3), 22-49.
Inglehart, R., & Norris, P. (2003). The true clash of civilizations. Foreign Policy, 135, 63-70.
Samuel P. Huntington, "The Clash of Civilizations." Foreign Affairs (Summer 1993): 22. Huntington, "The Clash of Civilizations," 22. Huntington, "The Clash of Civilizations," 22. Huntington, "The Clash of Civilizations," 23. Anatol Lieven, "Analysis: roots of the conflict between Georgia, South Ossetia and Russia." The UK Times Online. (August 11, 2008). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4498709.ece (accessed September 2, 2009). Samuel P. Huntington, "The Clash of Civilizations," 23-24. Anatole Lieven, "Analysis." Anatole Lieven, "Analysis." Natalia Antelava. "U.S. military will stay in Georgia." BBC
It is probable that Cameron inspired his film from the traditional conflict between Christianity and Islam. Some of the most influent forces in society have been devoted to impose their power over the rest of the world, similar to how humans did not hesitate to take up arms against the Na'vi when the latter did not want to comply with the former's requests. In Avatar, the human race is apparently
" The book argues that the reality of history is a "ludicrously compressed and constricted warfare," Said continues; but indeed Huntington cannot grasp the notion that there are no strictly defined Muslim cultures but to make his book work he has to build a case that there is such a stereotypical, predictable Muslim culture. Said goes so far as to say that Huntington's book attempted to give his original article a
civilizations have often resulted in dramatic changes to both sides. Peaceful encounters bring transfers to new goods, new technologies and new ideas, while encounters built on conflict can change outlooks, governments and ways of life. A violent culture clash occurred with the Crusades, while a more peaceful meeting of the cultures occurred with traders from Europe (especially Venetians) heading eastward to Asia. These two encounters between civilizations would lead
The second case of cultural reaffirmation that Huntington discusses is that of Muslim societies which have followed a different path towards the reassertion of their cultural identity. In these societies, religion has been the main factor of cultural distinctiveness and influence. Huntington argues that religion is the main factor which distinguishes Muslim societies from the others, and that the resurgence of Islam "embodies the acceptance of modernity, rejection of Western
Any of these conflicts might seem limited when they start, but given the cultural differences involved, at any time they could turn into a broader cultural war involving not a small part of the Middle East but all of it, and that sort of war would be a major threat to world civilization, a Huntington shows in his book. Khater (2004) offers a look at many documents of Middle Eastern