Conclusion: Continuities and Difference: Conceptions of the West and Cultural World Order Compared

Abstract

At the outset, this study recognized a growing interest in the role of civilizational and cultural identities among International Relations scholars. Assessing the role of such identities presents tremendous challenges. This is in no small part due to their complex nature. Civilizational and cultural identities are a blend of perceptions of history and tradition, of representation and normative commitments, all subject to interpretation. The breadth of scope and ethereal qualities of these identities can incline us towards reducing their complexity through simplified representations. However, this study does not dismiss but explores the complexity of civilizational identity and its implications. It has focused on one, critical civilizational identity in world politics – the West, a conception widely employed to refer to a group of societies and states that has dominated world politics and whose ideas and experiences have shaped International Relations.