Order Description
write a 5,000 words essay arguing whether the term ‘Clash of Civilizations’ accurately captures the post-Cold War relationship between the West and the Islamic world.
I would suggest having an introduction that sets out the direction of the overall argument. Also, the main body of the essay to contain strong argumentation particularly in highlighting the deficiencies of the Huntington thesis. It is necessary to make adequate linkages to the diverse threads that are mentioned in my suggested plan below and weave these threads into coherent whole. I would like to ensure that the main body of the essay is a logical progression of the overarching argument, which uses signposting to link back to the question and argument. Bring out the suggested literature in the bibliography that I’ll provide fully in the essay. Lastly, I am not sure the sequence I states below is logical enough.
Suggested Essay Plan
The essay to analyze the key concepts of Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations theory starting with a general context that lead the author to declare the end of ideology and the emergence of new paradigm in international retaliations (fall of Berlin wall in November 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991). The shift from the clash of ideologies during the Cold War period (liberal democracy vs. communism) to the clash between nations and groups of different civilizations and cultures after the end of the Cold War.
Elaborate on the various facets of Huntington’s clash of civilizations hypothesis; focusing on the new patterns of conflict that are foreseen to occur along the boundaries of different cultures and forms of cohesion that are to be found within the cultural borders.
Detail the weaknesses of Huntington’s c thesis taking into consideration the following arguments:
• Civilizations are treated in the thesis as monolithic and internally homogeneous.
• Theoretically simple, naturally subjective and inherently problematic.
• The challenges in testing Huntington’s analysis empirically due to the generalizations and assumptions about the “new phase” of world politics that are based largely on anecdotal evidence and subjective interpretation of that evidence.
• Is Huntington’s theory a fruit of Western -centrism, an extension of the European Enlightenment which led to the age colonialism?
• Does the theory equate the modernity, progress, and civilization with the superior West and it associates tradition, backwardness, and barbarism with the exotic and inferior Rest.
• Where does Huntington’s theory stand in relation to the economic globalization and the interlocking economic activities that are not territorially defined cultures and civilizations?
• Is it true that the danger in this theory lies in the risk of transforming a successful political myth into a self-fulfilling prophecy that may impact how foreign policy makers make decisions?
Discuss in depth the position of Islamic civilization in Huntington’s thesis and how the Muslim rage is perceived as the imminent danger to the West and its values. Although Huntington’s thesis presumably deals with the conflicts that world civilizations have faced and will face in the future, there is a wide belief that his thesis specifically targets Islam as major threat to the West. According to Huntington, Islamic resurgence and its demographic explosion, coupled with the values of Western universal values would lead to a bloody clash between the Islamic and Western civilizations. Eventually, Is Huntington’s argument more about a clash of religions than about a clash of civilizations?
Assess whether Huntington’s analysis about the Islamic civilization is accurate through:
• providing a brief geo-political overview of the main Islamic and Arabic nation states post -Cold War era;
• stating the main reasons behind the Islamic revivalism and later radicalization, and whether the West has in fact contributed to the nourishing of radicalism in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
• Is Islam unreceptive and hostile to Westernization through its values, perspectives, practices and institutions?
• assessing whether the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the aftermath ( Afghanistan and Iraq wars) are actually the manifestation of the clash of civilizations. Have these events contributed to the revival of Huntington’s clash rhetoric (the crusades) through the Bush doctrine and the wakeup call? Similarly, Al-Qaeda’s jihad against the new crusaders and the invasion of Iraq.
• The rise of the Islamic State and how its atrocities are perceived in the Islamic and the Arab world. Did the Iraq War (or invasion) helped in the radicalization of new elements within Islamic jihadist and radical groups?
• Provide a detailed scrutiny of the landmark events of the post -Cold War era to see how (or if) they fit into a civilizational paradigm: the Gulf War, 9-11, Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria. Would suggest treating these cases in a manner to support the overarching argument.
• How the Arab Spring fits into the Clash of Civilizations thesis? Is it an inter-civilizational and / or cultural clash, or are there socioeconomic and political reasons for the uprising? What are the positions and roles of the Western powers in relation to what is called the Arab Spring ?
The essay will conclude that many aspects of the current state of affairs on the global arena discredit Huntington’s thesis. It will highlight the weaknesses discussed above and will refute the belief that a Clash of Civilizations is indeed an accurate description of the modern conflicts between Islam and the West. The recent events, specifically the 9/11 terrorist attacks, war on terror, Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq, the Arab Spring, are not manifestations of the prophesied civilizational clash. They are political in nature even if they involve an element of religion which contributes to these events and conflicts.