How Inevitable Is A “Clash of Civilizations”?

The period since September 11 attacks in 2001 has witnessed intense debates over to what extent a ―clash of civilizations‖ is inevitable. This paper argues that the ―clash of civilizations‖ thesis is a mistaken paradigm of understanding the Post-Cold War international order. While cultural and religious identities have increasingly become a source of political mobilization in the Post-Cold War world, the ―clash of civilizations‖ thesis wrongly presumes that the civilization identities can override other major driving forces of political mobilization, which includes nation-state, global capitalism, and global governance based on common liberal values. All of these forces run against and will constrain the possibility of a clash of civilizations.