The Clash of Civilizations

I strongly agree with Samuel Huntington when he writes that future wars will be fought between civilizations. The problem with this theory is that the author doesn't really introduce any new ideas. Huntington declares that culture is the heart of every civilization, and that the most important aspect of culture is religion. If this is true, then civilizations have battled for centuries. Religious crusades occupied the Middle East as early as the 10th century, and wars between Protestants and Catholics waged on in France during the 16th century. Today, religious fueled conflicts still weigh heavily on the Middle East. Many countries are also trying to keep their unique lifestyles and traditions from being swallowed whole by Western cultures. These nations are attempting to "de-Westernize" themselves, and separate themselves from Western values. This process has caused some national leaders to loathe anything that comes from Western societies. (This cultural dilemma has ignited conflict, terrorist attacks, and will continue to cause problems in the future) So, I do believe Huntington is absolutely correct, and that differences amongst cultures will create the largest problems for nations in the future. However, as I said earlier, cultural and religious differences have always spawned war. Civilizations have and will battle for centuries to come.

I believe the best point raised by the article is pertaining to the evolution of communication. Nations still believe in different values, different gods, different governments, etc. Nothing has changed there. The real change lies in the fact that these nations can easily and openly communicate with one another at any instance, and more interactions create more oppurtunities for disputes amongst diferent civilizations.