Islam and the West: Huntington's Clash of Civilizations

Introduction: Post-Cold War Conflict and the Clash of Civilizations

World civilization has witnessed, in recent decades, some of the most important political, economic, and cultural developments of the twentieth century. The era following the end of the Cold War triggered a series of events that produced numerous conflicts around the world, from the war in Kuwait in the early 1990s, to the genocide in Rwanda, human rights abuses and apartheid in South Africa, and the escalation of the terrorist phenomenon to dimensions never previously attained.

The peak of the terrorist threat was reached on September 11, 2001, when the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York fully demonstrated the power, influence, and capacity that terrorist groups can master. Alongside the terrorist phenomenon, the regional conflicts still ongoing in parts of the Middle East and Africa highlight the widening differences that exist throughout the world between different types of civilizations, cultures, and levels of economic development. From this perspective, the theory presented by Samuel Huntington in his 1993 article "The Clash of Civilizations?" can be seen as valid for explaining the conflicts and clashes that persist between the Western world — represented in particular by the United States — and the Islamic world.

The differences that exist between the two major cultural and civilizational blocs are at the core of the constant conflicts between them. Despite the fact that the concept of a "clash of civilizations" was formulated in a period when terrorism was not the most significant threat to national security, Huntington was right in pointing out that the new conflicts the world would face after the Cold War would be fought along the civilizational lines of peoples and cultures. The clash between the United States, as representative of the Western world, and the Islamic world serves as proof of this theory.

Huntington's Theory: Civilizations, Identity, and Cultural Difference

The Clash of Civilizations theory proposed by Samuel Huntington in his 1993 article in Foreign Affairs begins with the following premise: "it is my hypothesis that the fundamental source of conflict in this new world will not be primarily ideological or primarily economic. The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural" (Huntington, 1993). It must be noted that the historical context in which the theory was presented included a wide debate about what kind of world would follow the Cold War. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the role of the United States as the single most important great power was recognized — not necessarily because of any clear improvement in the United States' own development, but as a result of the disappearance of the second pole of power that had been the U.S.S.R. The inevitable question therefore arose as to where global politics and international relations would develop, given that the era of nuclear arms competition was nearing its close and no clear new threats had been defined.

Huntington uses the term civilization to signify "a cultural entity. Villages, regions, ethnic groups, nationalities, religious groups, all have distinct cultures at different levels of cultural heterogeneity" (1993). Even where clear differences exist between cultures within the same country, these are not treated as distinct civilizations because they tend to share a common historical background or state organization. As Huntington argues, civilizations are not defined by the number of individuals they encompass, but rather by their uniqueness and dynamism — the elements that determine the sustainability of his theory.

Another important aspect Huntington addresses is the identity of actors on the international scene. This discussion was particularly significant in the early years of a fully globalized world. Huntington argued that the nation-state would no longer be the most important — nor the only — actor in global politics (Huntington, 1993, p. 25). This shift drew attention to how the rules of international engagement would change, especially since the world had been accustomed to a bipolar order in which realist international relations theory reigned supreme. The decline of the rational unitary state actor redirected attention toward other actors, including NGOs, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), and large multinational corporations.

Religion as the Central Fault Line Between Islam and the West

Huntington's argument for an imminent clash between civilizations rests on what he identifies as "basic differences" related to history, language, culture, tradition, and religion (Huntington, 1993). He views religion as the most significant of these differences and the one most likely to produce a definitive rift between civilizations. This is largely because religion has historically provided the core values of a society, from regulating family life to organizing the state itself. This difference is most apparent in the relationship between Christianity and Islam. While the former supports a clear separation between the state and the Church, in the latter the state is Islam, and the teachings of the Quran serve as the laws that provide the social and political framework of an Islamic republic.

Huntington further argues that the intensity of interactions between civilizations will amplify their differences. Among other factors, economic development plays a crucial role in how civilizations will interact in the future, fostering economic regionalization and drawing sharper lines between different levels of development around the world. A broader overview of this theoretical framework can be found in discussions of the Clash of Civilizations concept and its reception in international relations scholarship.

Conclusion: Multiple Factors Behind the Islam-West Confrontation

Samuel Huntington's perception of the threats after the end of the Cold War focused on the potential that cultural differences might have in providing new incentives for conflict, beyond those characteristic of the Cold War era. His argument about the clash of civilizations rests on the clear differences that exist between cultures and the likelihood that expanding economies and greater social interconnection would create more frequent contact and, consequently, more occasions for conflict. Others, however, consider Huntington only partially correct and argue that culture is a dimension that can be negotiated and adapted over time. Osama bin Laden, by contrast, viewed the confrontation between the United States and Islam as rooted in historical, religious, and civilizational considerations, while Baxter and Akbarzadeh point to specific policy decisions as the more proximate cause of regional hostility.

Taking all of this into account, the reasons for the confrontation between the West and the Islamic world can be seen to involve a multitude of factors — from inherited cultural and historical backgrounds to contemporary disputes over the acceptance of democracy and the rule of law as defined by Western standards. No single explanatory framework captures the full complexity of this relationship, and a nuanced understanding requires drawing on both civilizational theory and the concrete historical and political conditions that have shaped Islam-West relations in the modern era.

Works Cited

Baxter, Kylie, and Akbarzadeh, Shahram. U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East. Routledge, 2008.

Huntington, Samuel P. "The Clash of Civilizations?" Foreign Affairs, Summer 1993.

Inglehart, Ronald, and Norris, Pippa. "The True Clash of Civilizations." Foreign Policy, Mar/Apr 2003, Issue 135.

Krishna, Sankaran. Globalization and Postcolonialism: Hegemony and Resistance in the Twenty-First Century. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2008.

Observer Worldview. "Bin Laden's 'Letter to America.'" 2002. Available at http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4552895-102275,00.html