Decoding The Clash of Civilizations — Samuel P Huntington
In the summer of 1993, an article appeared in the magazine ‘Foreign Affairs’, named ‘Clash of Civilizations’. Written by the founder and co-editor of the magazine Mr. Samuel P. Hunington, this piece of work caused much stir and became a case of many debates and discussions in the modern International Relations era. It has also proven to be worthy, controversial, and distinct due to its many laid out hypothesis.
As the name suggests, the article talks about the clash of civilizations due to multipolarity, differences based on ethnic lines, and more.
But something sets this polarity apart— It’s not as much about ideology anymore as it is about the culture.
For instance, in the pre-1990s, the world was divided based on the Cold War ideologies (read Capitalism vs Communism). However, things drastically changed after the aftermath of the Cold War. The Berlin Wall came down, the USSR split into countries, and China rose as an industrial leader, just to name a few.
In terms of Ethnic Divide, Bosnia Massacre, Tibet, Sudan are just some of the conflicted cases.
One of Mr. Hunington’s excerpts talks about the rise in the Muslim population in the Eurasian world (we’ll get to that later on), and the rise of East Asian economies, changing the equation of the modern world. The western world’s hegemony is challenged along with inter-civilizational conflicts.
It’s a good read for the ones trying to explore international relations and build foundation in the same. The book establishes the world in a game theory model in accordance with the stark realities of the 21st Century.