The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order

In the summer of 1993 the journal Foreign Affairs published an article entitled "The Clash of Civilizations?" by Samuel Huntington. No article, according to the editors of that distinguished journal, has generated more discussion since George Kennan's "X" article on containment in the 1940s. Now, Mr. Huntington expands on his article, explores further the issues he raised then, and develops many new penetrating and controversial analyses. In the article, he posted the question whether conflicts between civilizations would dominate the future of world politics. In the book, he gives his answer, showing not only how clashes between civilizations are the greatest threat to world peace but also how an international order based on civilizations is the best safeguard against war.

Events in the past few years have confirmed Mr. Huntington's earlier judgments. Increasingly, people define themselves on the basis of ancestry, language, religion, and customs. Today, in the post–Cold War world, the critical distinctions between people are not primarily ideological or economic; they are cultural. World politics is being reconfigured along cultural lines, with new patterns of conflict and cooperation replacing those of the Cold War. The hot spots in world politics are on the "fault lines" between civilizations: witness the fighting in Bosnia, Chechnya, the Transcaucasus, Central Asia, Kashmir, the Middle East, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and many other places.