Sociology: Themes and perspectives
Huntington and the clash of civilisations One of the most influential analyses of the relationship between Muslim and Western nations is by Samuel P Huntington who, in his article "The clash of civiliza that the 21st century will be characterised by global conflict between civilisations. This conflict will not be based on ideological or economic differences but on differences between civilisations He describes civilisation as "the highest cultural grouping of people and the broadest level of cultural identity people have short of that which distinguishes humans from other species' (p. 24). Membership of a civilisa tion is defined by a number of objective factors including language, history, culture, tradition and, 'most important, religion' (p. 24) According to Huntington, globalisation is bringing different cultures into closer contact and this is leading to an increase in civilization consciousness'. Cultural differences will cause often violent' struggles between social groups and states from different religious and ethnic backgrounds. Religion will play an important part in the "civilization rallying that is now uniting people from diverse nations and which may form the basis for new political alliances (p. 39). Hunting suggests that the main fault line will be between the West and the Rest' as non-Western countries, especially those influenced by Islamic fundamentalism seek to oppose the economic and military might of Western countries. For Huntington, the clash between