The Clash of Civilizations by Samuel P. Huntington

1. The Clash of
Civilizations?
Samuel P. Huntington
ISCTE Business School, Lisbon - October 11, 2014
Intercultural Management
1

2. 2
• Introduction & History
• Why Civilizations will clash
• The Role of the West
• Examples of Civilization Clashes
• Video & Discussion
• Critics & Conclusion
Index

3. 3
Introduction & History
- Samuel Philips Huntington

4. 4
Introduction & History
- Nature of the clashes,
the author’s assumptions
• Approaches culture and identity
• Cold War
• Development in history
• Globalisation and its resistance
„The wars of kings were
over, the wars of people
had begun“
„Conflicts between
civilizations will be the latest
phase in the evolution of
conflict in the modern world“

5. 5
Introduction & History
- The fault lines
Iron Curtain vs. Velvet Curtain

6. • „Differences among civilizations are basic“
• „The world is becoming a smaller place“
• „Fundamentalism is a dominant social fact
of life in the late 20th century“
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Why Civilizations will clash

7. • „The relationship of elites and the mass of
Non-Western countries is being reversed“
• „Which side are you on? Is easier
to change than What are you?“
• „Economic regionalism is increasing“ 7
Why Civilizations will clash

8. 8
Coca-
Colonization
Theory
Modernization -
Westernization
The Role of the West

9. 9
The West is in
Retreat
Change in
attitude!
The Role of the West

10. 10
Examples of Civilization Clashes
- The British Empire

11. - The Yugoslav Wars
“In 1993 up to 4,000 Muslims from
over two dozen Islamic countries
were reported to be fighting in
Bosnia.”
“The leading actors in Western
civilization rallied behind their
coreligionists”
11
Examples of Civilization Clashes

12. “On both sides the interaction between Islam and the
West is seen as a clash of civilizations”
12
Examples of Civilization Clashes
- Confucian – Islam State vs. The West

13. 13
Examples of Civilization Clashes
- Confucian – Islamic States

14. 14
Video & Discussion
• What do you think of Huntington‘s theory?
Will future conflincts only be between
different civilizations?
• How would you categorize the conflicts
provoked by ISIS according to Huntington‘s
theory? Are these conflicts clashes of
civilizations?

15. • „Huntington‘s classification of civilizations is
difficult to operationalize.“
• „Civilizational conflicts constitute a minority
of ethnic conflicts.“
• „Conflicts between the West and both the
Sinic/Confucian and Islamic civilizations […]
constitute a small minority of civilizational
conflicts.“
from Jonathan Fox, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
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Critics & Conclusion

16. Thank you very much for
your attention!
ISCTE Business School, Lisbon - October 11, 2014
Intercultural Management – Group 1
16