The CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS AND THE REMAKING OF WORLD ORDER

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Summary: Civilization as a level of human organization
Review: In biology there are different levels of organization: molecules, cells, tissues, organs and organisms. In sociology could be also different levels of human organization: individual, community, nations, civilizations. This wonderfully written and highly provocative book is describing a civilizational level of human organization.One could not like the conclusions and sequences of civilization paradigm, but there are only two criteria for new theory: power of explanation of existing facts and power of prediction of future. Huntington theory of civilization fits perfectly to both criteria. He provides strong and powerfull analytical instrument for designing a smart national and world policy. Global level of human organization (which still does not exist and so-called globalization is only a rose dream) could not reject the objective existence of lower levels of human organization with all sequential pleasant or unpleasant practical conclusions. Futuristic scenario of World War III written by Huntington in his book already looks like our nearest future (creation of Indian and Pakistanian nuclear bomb. For the world history it does not matter we like these civilization's laws or not. These laws are working not on individual level but on the level of civilization. In any case it is better to look on future with open eyes... and read this excellent book.

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Summary: A wrongheaded paradigm for our time
Review: Samuel Huntington has a feeling for what America's foreign policy elite wants to hear. After he recommended in the 60s that America should prop up authoritative regimes (in 'Political Order in Changing Societies') he now wants us to believe that the rest of the world is full of irrational lunatics that are somehow loyal to so-called 'civilizations'. His thesis is empirically wrong and leads to false conclusions. See for a sweeping critique Stephen M. Walt, 'Building up new Bogeymen", Foreign Policy, No. 106, Spring 1997, or Yahya Sadowski, The Myth of Global Chaos (1998).

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Summary: The best post-Cold War book I have read so far
Review: The Clash of Civilizations was a revealing look at one possible causes of future problems. I believe Huntington's work is as important to understanding the future as The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers or Diplomacy is for understanding the past. It is the best post-Cold War book I have read to date.

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Summary: Good paradigm from a western perspective without directions
Review: Huntington 's book is scholarly, well researched and well written. Huntington 's paradigm is written from the perspective of Western Foriegn policy interests. Since this is the case one wonders why he does not make specific short term, long term policy recommendations. Huntington speaks eloquently (with statistical validity) about cultural trends in other civilizations - Islam, Hindu and Confucian. But says very little about cutural trends in his civilization, the West - The domestic violence, the gradual destruction of the family as the central institution of society, the racial divisions etc. Aren't these civilizational issues.Huntington worries about the "East coming into its own". His central concern seems to be the cultural assertiveness of Eastern peoples. He concedes the East has taken modernity from the west. But does not explore what the west can take (besides oil, yoga and kamasutra) from the east.

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Summary: A must read for students or followers of politics
Review: As a political science student at USC I find it somewhat difficult to get comprehensive annalises of overall global trends. Many authors simply single out one ideology or symptom and proceed to discuss it as if it exists in a vacuum. Huntington's book is the only one to date that is not only comprehensive, but clear and rational. You do not have to agree with his conclusions to love this book. It is simply the best, concise, annalitical overview of world events yet printed.

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Summary: Misguided analysis
Review: Samuel Huntington's latest book continues the trend amongst political analysis attempting to make their theories and ideas relevant in the midst of the breakdown of the cold war. The vaccum created by the end of global bipolarity will be filled, for Huntington, by a new ordering principle based on various world civilizations (he defines seven of them). Thus global conflict and interaction will be defined on civilizational lines: Christian West vs. Islamic East vs. Confucian China vs. (homogenous) Africa, etc... Certainly the deficiencies in generalizing about civilizations and even considering them meaningful aspects of identity are problematic. But what makes Huntington's analysis most troubling is in his absences. First, Huntington centers states as the primary actors in international relations. While the state certainly is important in international interaction, the increased globalization of the economy (see David Harvey's "The Condition of Postmodernity") has lead to the importance of other instituions, namely corproations. Multinationals ally themselves primarily with profits and seek to undermine certain aspects of state sovereignty. Another problem is his construction of Western culture which he limits to Christianity, individualism, and capitalism. These are certainly elements of Western culture and civilization, but he fails to mention such elements as: human dominance over nature, the holocaust and domination. (see, Adorno and Horkheimer's "Dialectic of Enlightenment"). With such a sanitized view of civilization and culture and his failure to address geo-economic realities, his theses regarding the "new world order" are useless.

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Summary: A Paradigm with a Purpose
Review: Although Huntington presents a sweeping alternative to the recently antiquated bipolar paradigm of international relations and politics, his new unit of analysis does not address many of the issues at hand. He overlooks possible explanations of the current world political situation because of the new lenses of civilization-based analysis. He also minimizes the forces of economic development in the formation of post-Cold War blocs. The conclusions and policies that follow the paradigm presented in The Clash, are domestically xenophobic and internationally isolationist. The portrait of global politics presented by Huntington is neither true for the present nor desirable for the future.

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Summary: We have adopted it for our Party program!
Review: We share your view about civilizational patriotism and will take the lead of the new western approach to the world: instead of conquering it , we will reclaim it ! Mr. Huntington too grim, but we know how to work it out by daring with cleverness and good faith! P.S. Could Amazon Books forward this comment to Mr. S. Huntington

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Summary: Geopolitical projections that will trigger hours of debate.
Review: You might challenge page after page of detail and argument that Huntington uses to make his points (I did), but on the overall conclusions it's hard to disagree. This is an insightful work on the geopolitical changes we can expect to shape the next 50 years. And if you find yourself writing hundreds of counter arguments in the margins, well that's half the fun. A worthwhile read anytime

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Summary: Just One More Try- Is this our New World Order?
Review: Since the fall of the Berlin Wall many writers have been trying to shed some light on the future prospects of international politics after the end of bipolarity. Huntington, as well as Francis Fukuyama in the early stages of the transitional period, presents a compelling, but rather incomplete thesis to explain these changes. The appeal of the clash of civilizatios is great, and helps us to reduce conflict to its most basic nature, the cultural and religious one. However, today the world is more complex and this clash is one of many that may happen among states. In a way, it is very hard to disagree with Huntington, civilizations certainly do count but they are not the answers for every step of the way. The clash is part of the question and part of the answers for today's world but it does not fulfill all our explanatory needs. Besides, it is a bit pessimistic, we have gone to so far but we are still chained to our old prejudices and fears. All in all, a pleasant reader, an intriguing one, but lacking a more gut wrenching view of the pos-Cold War scenario. Our New World Order is not here yet, but we may be sure that this is not Huntington's last try in explaining it