Is There a Clash of Civilizations? Evidence from Patterns of International Conflict Involvement, 1946–97*

Samuel Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order has sent intellectual shock waves through the international affairs academic and policy communities. According to the editors of Foreign Affairs, the article that Huntington (1993a) wrote in 1993 generated more discussion in three years than any other article they had published since the 1940s. And deservedly so: of all the theoretical frameworks that have gained visibility in the field in the last decade, Huntington’s is among the most thought-provoking and controversial. In Huntington’s vision, the dynamics of interstate interaction in the post-Cold War period will be primarily molded by civilizational factors. While the state continues to be the principal actor in the international domain, its identity and interests will be shaped by its civilizational heritage. And its behavior will be affected accordingly: conflict between civilizations and cooperation within civilizations is Huntington’s prediction for the future of world politics. ‘In this new world order’, Huntington (1996: 28) maintains, ‘the most pervasive, important, and dangerous conflicts will not be between social classes, rich and poor, or other economically © 2002 Journal of Peace Research, vol. 39, no. 6, 2002, pp. 711–734 Sage Publications (London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi) [0022-3433(200211)39:6; 711–734; 028843]