huntinton - sukob civilizacija.doc

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Samuel Huntinton: Clash of Civilizations

From Chapter 1: The New Era in World Politics

ntroduction: Fla!s and Cultural dentit"

#n $anuar" %& 1''(& a meetin! of )ussian and *merican scholars too+ place in the

auditorium of a !overnment ,uildin! in -oscow. Two wee+s earlier the Soviet /nion

had ceased to e0ist and the )ussian Federation had ,ecome an independent countr".

*s a result& the statue of enin which previousl" !raced the sta!e of the auditorium

had disappeared and instead the fla! of the )ussian Federation was now displa"ed

on the front wall. The onl" pro,lem& one *merican o,served& was that the fla! had

,een hun! upside down. *fter this was pointed out to the )ussian hosts& the" 2uic+l"

and 2uietl" corrected the error durin! the first intermission.

The "ears after the Cold War witnessed the ,e!innin!s of dramatic chan!es in

peoples3 identities and the s"m,ols of those identities. 4lo,al politics ,e!an to ,e

reconfi!ured alon! cultural lines. /pside5down fla!s were a si!n of the transition& ,ut

more and more the fla!s are fl"in! hi!h and true& and )ussians and other peoples are mo,ilizin! and marchin! ,ehind these and other s"m,ols of their new cultural

identities.

#n *pril 16& 1''7& two thousand people rallied in Sara8evo wavin! the fla!s of Saudi

*ra,ia and Tur+e". 9" fl"in! those ,anners& instead of /.N.& N*T#& or *merican

fla!s& these Sara8evans identified themselves with their fellow -uslims and told the

world who were their real and not5so5real friends.

#n #cto,er 1& 1''7& in os *n!eles ;


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* -ultipolar& -ulticivilizational World n the post5Cold War world& for the first

time in histor"& !lo,al politics has ,ecome multipolar and multicivilizational. Aurin!

most of human e0istence& contacts ,etween civilizations were intermittent or

none0istent. Then& with the ,e!innin! of the modern era& a,out *.A. 1?


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var" from one period to another. Jet the ma8or differences in political and economic

development amon! civilizations are clearl" rooted in their different cultures. East

*sian economic success has its source in East *sian culture& as do the difficulties

East *sian societies have had in achievin! sta,le democratic political s"stems.

slamic culture e0plains in lar!e part the failure of democrac" to emer!e in much of

the -uslim world. Aevelopments in the postcommunist societies of Eastern Europe

and the former Soviet /nion are shaped ," their civilizational identities. Those with

Western Christian herita!es are ma+in! pro!ress toward economic development and

democratic politics the prospects for economic and political development in the

#rthodo0 countries are uncertain the prospects in the -uslim repu,lics are ,lea+.

The West is and will remain for "ears to come the most powerful civilization. Jet its

power relative to that of other civilizations is declinin!. *s the West attempts to

assert its values and to protect its interests& non5Western societies confront a choice.

Some attempt to emulate the West and to 8oin or to =,andwa!on= with the West.

#ther Confucian and slamic societies attempt to e0pand their own economic and

militar" power to resist and to =,alance= a!ainst the West. * central a0is of

post5Cold War world politics is thus the interaction of Western power and culture

with the power and culture of non5Western civilizations.

n sum& the post5Cold War world is a world of seven or ei!ht ma8or civilizations.

Cultural commonalities and differences shape the interests& anta!onisms& and associations of states. The most important countries in the world come

overwhelmin!l" from different civilizations. The local conflicts most li+el" to escalate

into ,roader wars are those ,etween !roups and states from different civilizations.

The predominant patterns of political and economic development differ from

civilization to civilization. The +e" issues on the international a!enda involve

differences amon! civilizations. Power is shiftin! from the lon! predominant West to

non5Western civilizations. 4lo,al politics has ,ecome multipolar and

multicivilizational.

Cop"ri!ht K 1'' ," Samuel P. Huntin!ton

Cop"ri!ht K 1''?51''; 9T/ Productions *ll ri!hts reserved. Ao not duplicateor redistri,ute in an" form.

We respect "our privac".

huntinton - sukob civilizacija.doc

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