The Clash of Civilizations?

Abstract

Huntington contends that culturally based “civilizations” exert stronger holds on people than economic systems, levels of development, or even political systems. Clearly, he views culture and civilization as, at least partially and importantly, distinct from economic and political life, a view that many scholars of political culture (e.g., Inglehart 1997; Putnam with Leonardi and Nanetti 1993; Thompson, Ellis, and Wildavsky 1990; Eckstein 1988) would dispute. In his later expansion of this article’s themes, Huntington focuses particularly on language and religion as clear indices of the distinctiveness of various civilizations (1996).