Huntington's "The Clash of Civilizations"

Paper Summary:

The paper explains Samuel P. Huntingdon's thesis on the new battle lines in the post-Cold War world and his most controversial belief that Muslim cultures are more involved in wars and conflict than any other culture. The paper then turns to the ideas of Edward W. Said who in "The Clash of Ignorance" attacks Huntingdon's assertions and accuses him of oversimplifications and outright lies. The paper goes on to highlight several of the "wild" assertions of Huntingdon but argues that there is still merit to many of his arguments even if they are oversimplified and biased. The paper concludes that this is a book that should be read, discussed and debated, because it raises many issues that Americans are not totally comfortable with.

Outline:
Introduction
Body of the Paper
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"In his book The Clash of Civilizations, Samuel Huntington explains that the end of the cold war also brought to a conclusion the way wars are fought based on ideology. Huntington asserts that the absence of the international image of two superpowers dominating world politics has opened the door to regional cultural and religious wars. He makes his points by combining statistics to prove his oversimplified theory of world demographics as an "indispensable guide to international politics." His arguments in that regard seem valid, lucid and convincing, but there are those who take issue with his positions. In fact much of what Huntington asserts can be objectively (based on history and the world today) challenged and indeed morally challenged as well."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Barder, Christopher. (1999). Professor Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations" and its Bearing o Israel's Security. NATIV, Retrieved March 31, 2008, fromhttp://www.acpr.org.il/nativ/1999-6/barderxs.htm.
• Huntington, Samuel P. (1996). The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York: Simon & Schuster.
• Said, Edward W. (2001). The Clash of Ignorance. The Nation. Retrieved March 31, 2008, fromhttp://www.thenation.com/doc/20011022/said.

More papers on Huntington's "The Clash of Civilizations":

• Article Review # 141803 : "Understanding "The Clash of Civilizations"
• Argumentative Essay # 28338 : "The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order"
• Essay # 89484 : "Huntington's Clash of Civilizations"
• Book Review # 109757 : "The Clash of Civilizations"

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