The Clash of Civilizations Foreign Affairs

Clash of Civilizations
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Clash of Civilizations
Many scholars have provided different arguments about world politics. Intellectuals in political matters have not hesitated in providing visions of what it will be at the end of history. One such political scientist and scholar is Samuel P. Huntington. In 1993, Huntington published an article titled “The Clash of Civilizations?” that explored what would cause conflict of civilizations (Huntington, 1993). Huntington’s argument is that culture will play a crucial role in civilization conflicts but his arguments were refuted by Edward Said. Said argues that Huntington’s thesis fails to consider the current interaction of world cultures.
Huntington’s main thesis is that the primary source of conflicts would no longer be ideological, political, or economic. Instead, cultural and religious aspects would generate conflict because people would be divided along cultural lines – Western, Arab, Islamic, Hindu, and so on (Huntington, 1993). Huntington argues that the west traditionally dominated world civilization by navigating the oceans and domination of ideas, values, as well as religion. However, with the emergency of modernization, civilizations are moving away from the unidirectional influence of the west. He argues that while the west has dominated in technology, military, and economic consumption, its influence is declining. He argues that the decline would be slow, it will not occur in straight, and the power of any nation is influenced by behavior and decisions of those in power (Huntington, 1993). Huntington gives the example of Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and China that asserted their cultural relevance thorough economic success. Huntington also argues that religion plays a crucial role in world politics. He argues the Muslim societies have asserted their cultural identity through religion. Huntington believes the Muslim world will collaborate with some Sinic culture...