Huntington's Clash of Civilizations Lecture

Sep 28, 2024

AEI Bradley Lecture Series: October Session

Upcoming Event

  • Next Lecture: November 10th
    • Speaker: Robert Jastrow
    • Topic: God and the Astronomers

Current Lecture

  • Speaker: Samuel P. Huntington
    • Position: Eaton Professor of the Science of Government, Harvard University
    • Director of the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies

Keynote Topic: The Clash of Civilizations

  • Hypothesis: Future global conflicts will be cultural rather than ideological or economic.
  • Cultural Divisions: The main source of future conflicts; civilizations differentiated by history, language, religion, etc.
  • Famous Works: Huntington previously co-authored a book on politics in the USA and USSR.

Key Concepts and Points

  • Civilization Identity: Increasing importance in global politics, especially post-Cold War.
    • Civilizations Defined: Cultural entities with shared history and norms.
    • Major Civilizations: Interactions among eight or nine primary civilizations will shape global conflicts.

Factors Leading to Clash

  1. Basic Differences: Deep-rooted in history, culture, religion.
  2. Globalization: Increasing interaction and awareness among civilizations.
  3. Modernization: Weakens national identity, revives religion.
  4. West's Dual Role: At peak power, non-Western nations assert their own identities.
  5. Cultural Conflict: More immutable and intense than political/economic conflicts.
  6. Economic Factors: Economic entities like China emerging, challenging Western dominance.

Historical Context

  • Evolution of Conflict: From princes to nations to ideologies.
  • Western Civil Wars: Past conflicts largely within Western civilization.
  • Current Trends: Moving towards global interaction among different civilizations.

Examples of Civilization Conflicts

  • West vs. Islam: Historical conflict, recent tensions (e.g., Gulf War).
  • Islam vs. Sub-Saharan Africa: Religious and ethnic tensions.
  • Orthodox vs. Western Europe: Cultural lines becoming new fault lines.
  • Confucian vs. Western: Especially in East Asia, rising economic tensions.

"Torn Countries"

  • Definition: Countries caught between civilizations (e.g., Turkey, Mexico, Russia).
  • Struggle with Identity: Conflicting cultural influences.

Policy Implications for the West

  • Short Term: Unity within Western civilization, manage relations with Russia and Japan, control military expansion in non-Western civilizations.
  • Long Term: Accommodate to non-Western civilizations, understand their values and interests.

Conclusion

  • Future Dynamics: Conflict between Western and non-Western civilizations will define global politics.
  • Understanding Other Civilizations: Necessary for coexistence and managing conflicts effectively.

Q&A Highlights

  • Importance of Understanding: Comparable to Cold War efforts to understand the Soviet Union.
  • Diffusion of Technology: Challenges in balancing modernization with control over sensitive technologies.
  • Impact of American Popular Culture: Global spread and its potential influence on values and democracy.
  • Multiculturalism in the US: Potential threat to American unity and core values.

This summary captures key points from Samuel P. Huntington's lecture on 'The Clash of Civilizations' as part of the AEI Bradley Lecture Series.