Clash of Civilizations

Samuel P. Huntington
Samuel P. Huntington
Occupation	Political scientist
Known for	Clash of Civilizations thesis

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Clash of Civilizations, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 29 November 20251 source

The Clash of Civilizations thesis, formulated by American political scientist Samuel P. Huntington, suggests that in the aftermath of the Cold War, cultural and religious affiliations will become the dominant sources of global conflict. Huntington proposed that future confrontations would occur primarily between cultural groups rather than between nation-states. He initially presented this idea during a 1992 lecture at the American Enterprise Institute, subsequently elaborating on it in his 1993 Foreign Affairs article titled The Clash of Civilizations?, and further expanding the concept in his 1996 book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order.

Although the term had been previously mentioned by thinkers such as Albert Camus and Bernard Lewis, Huntington was instrumental in popularizing it within political discourse. He examined various global political theories emerging after the Cold War, positioning his perspective in contrast to Francis Fukuyama's assertion that liberal democracy and capitalism represented the "end of history." Huntington argued that as ideological conflicts waned, cultural divisions would resurface as the primary source of international tension.

Central to Huntington's argument is the idea that civilizations represent the highest form of cultural identity, which will increasingly influence the likelihood of conflict. He stressed that his thesis was intended as an analytical description rather than an endorsement or prediction of inevitable clashes between civilizations.

This paradigm signifies a departure from historical conflicts dominated by monarchs, nation-states, and ideological struggles—largely Western-centric—to an era where non-Western civilizations play a significant role alongside Western powers in shaping global affairs.

Major civilizations according to Huntington

Huntington delineated several principal civilizations across the globe:^[1]

Western civilization (also referred to as Christendom) encompasses regions such as the United States, Canada, Western and Central Europe, large parts of the Philippines, Australia, and Oceania. The inclusion of Latin America and former Soviet republics remains subject to debate. Traditionally, Western civilization aligns with Western Christian (Catholic-Protestant) cultural heritage.
- The Latin American civilization covers most nations in South America (with exceptions like Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana), Central America, Mexico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic; many inhabitants here identify culturally with Western civilization.
- The Orthodox civilization includes countries such as Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Romania, and much of the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.
  - Countries with predominantly non-Orthodox populations—such as Muslim-majority Azerbaijan, Albania, Central Asian states, and some Balkan nations—are typically excluded. Armenia and Kazakhstan are notable exceptions despite their differing dominant religions.

The Eastern world consists of Islamic, Sinic (Greater China), Hindu-Buddhist (Dharmic/Indic), and Japonic civilizations.
- The Sinic civilization comprises China, both Koreas, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, along with Chinese diaspora communities throughout Southeast Asia.
- Japan is characterized as a cultural hybrid influenced by Chinese and Altaic traditions.
- Buddhist societies—including Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia; as well as Tibet, Mongolia, Bhutan—are recognized but do not constitute a major international civilization per Huntington's classification.
- The Hindu civilization (or Hindudom) centers primarily on India and Nepal and extends through a global Indian diaspora.
- Certain areas in South Asia (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh) and Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia) belong to the Islamic civilization.

The Muslim world covers the Greater Middle East—excluding Armenia, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Georgia, Israel, Malta, South Sudan—as well as northern West Africa; countries like Albania, Pakistan, Bangladesh; parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Brunei; Comoros; Indonesia; Malaysia; Maldives; and portions of southwestern Philippines.

Sub-Saharan Africa includes southern Africa; Middle Africa (excluding Chad); East Africa (excluding Ethiopia and some island nations); Cape Verde; Ghana; Ivory Coast; Liberia; Sierra Leone. Huntington identifies it as a potential eighth civilization.

South Africa occupies a unique position: formerly part of the Western sphere but now politically and culturally aligned with African identity. Afrikaners maintain Western ties whereas Black South Africans predominantly embrace Pan-Africanism opposing Western influence.

Certain nations are categorized as Lone or unique entities: Ethiopia and Haiti stand apart independently; Israel is distinct though closely associated with Western civilization. The Anglophone Caribbean forms its own grouping among former British colonies.

Cleft countries contain significant populations affiliating with different civilizations: Ukraine exhibits divisions between Western Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy; French Guiana straddles Latin American versus Western identities; Benin, Chad, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Togo reflect Islam versus Sub-Saharan African influences; Guyana and Suriname display Hindu versus Sub-Saharan African cultural affiliations; Sri Lanka and Bhutan show Hindu versus Buddhist/Dharmic identities; the Philippines is divided among Islam in Mindanao, Sinic culture in Cordillera regions, with a majority Westernized Christian population. Sudan was split between Islamic and Sub-Saharan African civilizations until South Sudan gained independence in 2011.

Huntington's theory of civilizational conflict

Huntington contends that in the aftermath of the Cold War, global disputes increasingly manifest along civilizational lines. Examples such as the wars following the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the conflict in Chechnya, and tensions between India and Pakistan serve as illustrations of clashes between distinct civilizations. He challenges Western presumptions regarding the universal applicability of its values and political frameworks, cautioning that efforts to impose democratization may provoke resistance from other cultural spheres. The West’s hesitation to acknowledge this reality is linked to its historical influence in establishing international structures like the United Nations.

He notes a significant realignment of economic, military, and political influence away from Western dominance toward other civilizations, particularly highlighting the Sinic and Islamic worlds as emerging competitors.

Huntington observes that the Sinic civilization in East Asia is asserting its cultural identity alongside swift economic expansion. He argues that China seeks to regain regional supremacy, with neighboring countries such as Korea and Vietnam expected to align due to shared Confucian hierarchical values, which stand in contrast to Western individualism. This resurgence poses a substantial long-term challenge to the Western preference for preventing any single dominant power in East Asia.

Concerning Islamic civilization, Huntington points to rapid population growth as a source of instability and the rise of fundamentalist movements, evidenced by occurrences like the 1979 Iranian revolution and the Gulf War. His phrase "Islam has bloody borders" captures ongoing conflicts at the boundaries of Islamic civilization with Sinic, Orthodox, Western, and African cultures.

He anticipates potential collaboration between Islamic civilization and China, both pursuing revisionist agendas and united by common interests opposing Western stances on issues such as arms control, human rights, and democracy.

Huntington categorizes Russia, Japan, and India as civilizations with fluctuating allegiances. Russia’s relationships are multifaceted; it faces conflicts with Muslim ethnic groups like the Chechens but also cooperates with Iran to manage Muslim-Orthodox tensions and secure energy supplies. He predicts an expanding Sino-Islamic partnership encompassing China, Iran, Pakistan, and others aimed at enhancing their global influence.

Huntington underscores that civilizational conflicts are particularly intense between Muslim and non-Muslim societies, rooted in historical confrontations dating from Islamic expansions into Europe through Ottoman incursions and European colonialism.

He attributes these persistent conflicts partly to Christianity and Islam sharing characteristics as:

Missionary religions focused on conversion
Universalist faiths claiming exclusive truth
Teleological religions defining humanity’s ultimate purpose

Contemporary sources of Western–Islamic friction include the resurgence of Islamic identity, demographic growth within Muslim populations, and Western universalism promoting its values worldwide—factors that exacerbate fundamentalist resistance. Huntington argues that these combined historical legacies and present-day forces will sustain ongoing tensions between Islamic and Western civilizations.

Reasons for Civilizational Conflicts

Huntington outlines six primary factors that contribute to clashes between civilizations:

Deep-seated and persistent differences exist in history, language, cultural practices, traditions, and religious beliefs.
Growing global interactions intensify awareness of civilizational identities and highlight distinctions.
Economic development and social transformations erode local identities, with religion often bridging identity voids across borders.
The dominance of Western power contrasts with the revival of non-Western civilizations, each aiming to influence global affairs according to their own values.
Cultural characteristics tend to be less adaptable and more resistant to compromise than political or economic matters.
The rise of economic regionalism strengthens civilizational consciousness and is most effective when founded on shared cultural heritage.

The West versus the Non-Western World

Huntington anticipates that future international relations will largely revolve around tensions between Western and non-Western civilizations—essentially, the West confronting "the Rest." Responses from non-Western societies include:

Choosing isolation to safeguard traditional values, a strategy that is infrequent and comes with significant costs.
Adopting Western norms and values in an effort to align with Western powers.
Counterbalancing Western influence through modernization, economic growth, military enhancement, and collaboration with other non-Western nations while preserving unique institutional frameworks.

He predicts that as non-Western powers gain prominence, the West will be compelled to acknowledge varying cultural foundations, fostering coexistence and shared global governance.

Conflicts at Civilizational Boundaries and Among Core States

Conflicts between civilizations manifest in two forms:

Fault line conflicts: localized disputes occurring between neighboring states or within countries inhabited by mixed civilizations.
Core state conflicts: broader confrontations involving major powers from different civilizations, often escalating from fault line disputes.

These clashes arise due to struggles over power, ethnic discrimination, protection of related groups beyond borders, or attempts to impose cultural values on others.

Modernization, Western Influence, and Countries with Divided Loyalties

Nations such as Japan, China, and the Four Asian Tigers have achieved modernization while maintaining traditional or authoritarian elements that differentiate them from Western societies. Russia represents a case of modernization outside the Western cultural framework despite its historical connections to the West.

Countries described as "torn" experience competing affiliations with multiple civilizations. Turkey exemplifies this phenomenon by pursuing Westernization since the 1920s reforms while remaining rooted in Islamic civilization. Similarly, Mexico, Russia, and Australia demonstrate divided identities due to conflicting cultural and economic ties.

Successfully redefining a torn country's civilizational identity requires support from political elites, acceptance by the population, and acknowledgment from elites within the target civilization. Huntington notes that no torn country has fully accomplished this yet; however, Turkey's potential accession to the European Union could represent a significant milestone.

Impact

Huntington’s clash of civilizations thesis has profoundly influenced academic discourse and policymaking. It has been referenced in analyses related to the war on terror and plays a notable role in right-wing political narratives within Western democracies. The theory also shapes political viewpoints in countries like Israel and Hungary concerning Islam and multiculturalism.

Critiques

The theory has encountered extensive scholarly criticism challenging its empirical validity, reasoning, and ideological underpinnings. Critics argue it oversimplifies complex social identities and supports conservative agendas aimed at maintaining Western hegemony.

Prominent detractors include Amartya Sen, who stresses the importance of multiple overlapping identities rather than singular civilizational categories; Paul Berman, who questions clear-cut cultural boundaries; Timothy Garton Ash, who rejects Huntington’s deterministic outlook; Edward Said, who condemns its racialized implications; Noam Chomsky, who interprets it as a rationale for U.S. policies after the Cold War; Yuval Noah Harari, who labels it misleading; and Nathan J. Robinson, who points out inconsistent classifications.

Additional concerns highlight Huntington’s repetition of problematic narratives during events such as the Kosovo genocide.

Intermediate Region

Huntington’s geopolitical framework draws significantly on Dimitri Kitsikis’s concept of the Intermediate Region—a territory extending from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River that does not fit neatly into either Western or Eastern categories. Contrary to Huntington’s depiction of a civilizational fault line between Eastern Orthodoxy and Sunni Islam here, Kitsikis views this area as an integrated civilization characterized by shared cultural norms distinct from both West and East. Conflicts within this zone are primarily internal political struggles rather than inter-civilizational confrontations.

Alternative Approaches

The Dialogue Among Civilizations concept emerged as a counterpoint to Huntington’s thesis. Originated by Hans Köchler in 1972 and later advocated globally by Iranian President Mohammad Khatami in 2001—resulting in the United Nations declaring a Year of Dialogue among Civilizations—it promotes intercultural understanding instead of conflict.

The Alliance of Civilizations initiative launched at the 2005 UN General Assembly aims to bridge divides between diverse societies—particularly between Western and Muslim communities—to combat extremism and ease cultural tensions.

Additional Civilizational Theories

Eurasianism: A Russian geopolitical ideology focused on Eurasian unity
Intermediate Region
Islamo-Christian Civilization
Pan-Turkism

Key Thinkers

Richard Bulliet
Jacob Burckhardt
Niall Ferguson
Dimitri Kitsikis
Feliks Koneczny
Carroll Quigley
Oswald Spengler