After more than four decades of distinguished scholarship and a stint on the National Security Council, in 1992 Samuel P. Huntington introduced his "clash of civilizations" thesis in a speech before the American Enterprise Institute. The provocative theory caused an earthquake in the field of international relations. Huntington foresaw that the next threat to the world order would come from Islamic civilization and China would soon come into conflict with the West. With less prescience, Huntington also predicted that the new fault lines of geopolitical conflict would pit civilizations against each other rather than ideologies: "Conflicts between [actors from] different civilizations will be more frequent, more sustained, and more violent than conflicts between groups in the same civilization." The clash between Islamic terror and the West appears less acute than it did twenty years ago, but today the rivalry between the United States and China dominates world politics, as Huntington predicted. However, the composition of the alliances differ from the ones Huntington suggested, as, during the last decade, from Syria to Ukraine, more blood has been spilt within civilizations than between them. After thirty years, power politics continues to drive clashes between nations much more than civilizational kinship.
Clash Within Civilizations?
Clash Within Civilizations?
Clash Within Civilizations?
After more than four decades of distinguished scholarship and a stint on the National Security Council, in 1992 Samuel P. Huntington introduced his "clash of civilizations" thesis in a speech before the American Enterprise Institute. The provocative theory caused an earthquake in the field of international relations. Huntington foresaw that the next threat to the world order would come from Islamic civilization and China would soon come into conflict with the West. With less prescience, Huntington also predicted that the new fault lines of geopolitical conflict would pit civilizations against each other rather than ideologies: "Conflicts between [actors from] different civilizations will be more frequent, more sustained, and more violent than conflicts between groups in the same civilization." The clash between Islamic terror and the West appears less acute than it did twenty years ago, but today the rivalry between the United States and China dominates world politics, as Huntington predicted. However, the composition of the alliances differ from the ones Huntington suggested, as, during the last decade, from Syria to Ukraine, more blood has been spilt within civilizations than between them. After thirty years, power politics continues to drive clashes between nations much more than civilizational kinship.