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Essay / The validity of Samuel P. Huntington's thesis in "The...
The purpose of Samuel P. Huntington's "The Clash of Civilizations" was to provide an academic framework for understanding almost all conflicts that have arisen since the end of the 20th century, including forecasting the occurrence of future conflicts. According to Huntington, there will be a clash of civilizations since the world is in unreasonable times since the end of the Cold War and the position of the nation state is irrelevant. Much more than the political objectives of territorial conquests, it is the religious element of culture which has become the main cause of conflict. It must be recognized that Huntington's “clash of civilizations” is a relatively simple theory which aims to illuminate the ins and outs of international politics. Samuel P. Huntington's article played a leading role in establishing the field of international relations today by defining culture and religion as the primary culprits in today's international conflicts. However, to validate such a standard, one must be able to describe and interpret the real world and motivate people to investigate how this theory helps understand current conflicts. According to Huntington, a new type of resistance flourished in the conflict of the Middle Ages. between princes and post-Westphalian antagonisms between nations since the end of the Cold War. This new type of conflict, however, opposes seven or eight major civilizations: Western, Confusion, Japanese, Islamic, Hindu, Slavic-Orthodox, Latin American and possibly African. With the end of political philosophies, individuals would feel closely connected to common cultural characteristics and, therefore, recognize that they are middle of paper..., especially when extremist governments are involved. With the benefit of observation, one could question Huntington's main objection, either of wanting to provide political leaders with a basic theoretical framework for analyzing world politics, or of wanting to pave the way for U.S. administration for intervention in current American foreign policy. beginning of the 21st century. Works Cited Geertz, Clifford. “Ideology as a cultural system”. In The Interpretation of Cultures; 193-233.New York: Basic Books, 1973.Huntington, Samuel P. The Clash of Civilizations? In Foreign Affairs, Vol. 72, n° 3, 22 – 50.1993. Graham, James. “The Clash of Civilizations and Today in the History of Samuel P. Huntington.” HistoryOrb.com - Articles, Birthdays and Today in History. http://historyorb.com (accessed September 25, 2011).