The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order

In the summer of 1993 Foreign Affairs published an article entitled “The Clash of Civilizations?” by Samuel Huntington. No article, according to the editors of that distinguished journal, has generated more discussion since George Kennan's “X” article on containment in the 1940s. Now, Mr. Huntington expands on his article, explores further the issues he raised then, and develops many new penetrating and controversial analyses. In the article, he posed the question whether conflicts between civilizations would dominate the future of world politics. In the book, he gives his answer, showing not only how clashes between civilizations are the greatest threat to world peace but also how an international order based on civilizations is the best safeguard against war. Events in the past few years have confirmed Mr. Huntington's earlier judgments. Increasingly, people define themselves on the basis of ancestry, language, religion, and customs. Today, in the post-Cold War world, the critical distinctions between people are not primarily ideological or economic; they are cultural. World politics is being reconfigured along cultural lines, with new patterns of conflict and cooperation replacing those of the Cold War. The hot spots in world politics are on the “fault lines” between civilizations: witness the fighting in Bosnia, Chechnya, the Transcaucasus, Central Asia, Kashmir, the Middle East, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and many other places. Mr. Huntington explains how the population explosion in Muslim countries and the economic rise of East Asia are changing global politics. These developments challenge Western dominance, promote opposition to supposedly “universal” Western ideals, and intensify intercivilization conflict over such issues as nuclear proliferation, immigration, human rights, and democracy. The Muslim population surge has led to many small wars throughout Eurasia, and the rise of China could lead to a global war of civilizations. Mr. Huntington sets forth a strategy for the West to preserve its unique culture and emphasizes the need for people everywhere to learn to coexist in a complex, multipolar, multicivilizational world. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order is an insightful and powerful analysis of the forces driving global politics today and into the next century. It is sure to be one of the most talked about books of the decade.