Thursday 23 July 2009

Clash of Civilizations

Causes- Clash of Civilizations

Post cold war, global politics began to be reconfigured along cultural lines.
During the cold war global politics was bipolar-the West and USSR/non-aligned. Nation states remained the principal actors in world affairs and pursue power and wealth, but also cultural similarities and differences.
Bloody clashes in Central Asia, Palestine, Kashmir could become bigger wars. Vaclav Havel “cultural conflicts are increasing and more dangerous today than in any time in history”.
Germany, Koreas and Chinas coming together, Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Bosnia fell apart. Nigeria, India, Sudan and Sri Lanka are subject to severe strain.
Post cold war those with western heritage prospects of democracy bright, in orthodox ones poor, and in Muslim countries, bleak.
Post cold war there were 7-8 major civilizations.
For 40 years international relations were in terms of the cold war paradigm. Then Sino-Soviet split emerged. We need models to
- order and generalize about reality
-to understand causal reality among phenomenon
-anticipate/predict future development,-
-distinguish important from non-important
-show path to achieve goals
We need a map which portrays reality and simplifies it to serve our purpose.
One world-end of cold war meant end of significant conflict, or we may be seeing end of history-Fukuyama-as such end point of mankind’s ideological evolution and universalization of western liberal democracy as the final form of human government
(6 ). Euphoria was an illusion. WW I to end wars, and WW II to end the system of unilateral action (FDR-7). WWI was followed by communism and fascism. WW II with cold war. At the end of cold war ethnic cleansing, fundamentalism, Iraq, Afghanistan, genocide and Israel continued.

US and THEM:
Our civilization and barbarian, orient and occident, Arab and Ajam, north and south, Darul Harb and Darul Islam, communist (and capitalist), rich and poor, West and East, economic well being and values (9).
Rich characteristics different from poor ones. Conflict arises when the rich try to conquer the poor. Neo colonization continues, poor countries lack military capability. International class warfare effectively blunted. At some level West is a cultural entity, but Japan, china, Hindu and Africans are very different from each other. And Muslims have only religion in common. East-West dichotomy is a West created myth. Defects of Orientialism Edward Said “the difference between familiar (West) and the strange (East) and for assuming the inherent superiority of the former over the latter” (10). (White /man’s burden-the most interesting example when the dictator of Uganda, the one who threw Indians out because an Indian girl would not marry him-recall the name Idi Amin, had himself carried by white men in public on a ‘Takht”, and called it the white man’s burden).

Realist Theory:
States are primary, indeed the only important actors on world affairs (11). Inter related that of anarchy (but satrapies, dependencies, satellites). China is an economic power. Russia resurgent, and there is progressive movement in Latin America.
States define their interest in terms of power, balance of power, perceived threats, ideology, values, culture, economic system, corporate/globalization, domination of one state. Post old war satellites of the one globalising power. Sovereignty curbed by IMF, WB, WTO, NAFTA, European Union, lost control over the flow of money, technology and goods. End of billiard ball “state since treaty of Westphalia 1648(12).
Chaos:
Weakened states, failed states, anarchy, increase ethnic, tribal, religious conflicts, internal mafias, refugees, WMDs, terrorism, genocide, pandemonium-Daniel p Moynihan. 1993 48 ethnic wars, 164 territorial claims in former USSR, 30 with armed conflict (14).
World is engaged in simultaneous process of fragmentation and integration (15).
7-8 civilizations provide an easily grasped and intelligent frame work for understanding the world.
-integration generates cultural assertion and civilization consciousness.
-Nation states increasingly governed by culture/civilization factors.
-greatest danger conflict between state-groups from different civilizations.
(orthodox Eastern Ukraine and Western Ukraine divide).
Civilizational paradigm could have predicated
-break up of USSR, Yugoslavia and wars in their former territories
-rise of fundamentalism
-trade conflict between the USA and Japan
-resistance of Islamic states to US neo colonization
-Muslim states in China to acquire nuclear weapons
-China outside great power.
-democracy in some countries, not in others.
Lester Pearson on problems between civilizations (17). The end o cold war released civilizational forces (18).
Human history is the history f civilizations Writers on civilization (1).
18th century French thinkers developed the idea of civilization against barbarism, former settled, urban, literate. Use of plural meant a shift away from a single standard confined to a few privileged people and groups in humanity’s elite Brandel (2).
189th century German thinkers worked on mechanics of civilization, technology and material factors and on culture- values, ideals, higher intellectual character and moral qualities
Others-primitive unchanging, non-urban societies.
Civilization-complex, developed, urban and dynamic.
Brandel (3) delusory to think-German way and separate culture for its foundation of civilization.
Both refer to a way of life, civilization is culture writ large (3)\\4).Greek-blood, language, way of life distinguished Greeks from non-Greek (6). Most important was religion. To a great extent civilizations have been identified with religions, and different religious groups slaughter each other (7). Civilization is not the same as race.
Civilization is the broadest cultural entity (north and south of Italy, different from Germans), Europeans from Chinese and Hindus and are civilizations defined by a common language, religious institutions, history, customs. Civilizations are the biggest ‘we’ distinct from them.-major, peripheral-Bagley and major abortive Toynbee- no boundaries, beginning or ending, most enduring of human entities/associations. Bozeman “political systems are transient expedients on the surface of civilization (10), endure, evolve are dynamic and disappear too.
Phases-
Melko:
Feudal is transitional to state to imperial
Toynbee”
Challenge, response, growth, control over environment-trouble, universal state, disintegration (11).
Civilization and cultural entity do not establish order, justice tax, war or negotiate. Political systems do that, may contain political units-city states to nations, multinational states and different forms of governments. Lucian Pye “ China, a civilization pretending to be state (12), Japan a country and a state.. Most contain 2 or more states. Number of civilizations in history (13).
Melko (14)-Mesopotamian. Egyptian, Cretan, Classical, Byzantine, Middle American and Andean (gone), Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Islamic and the western exist, plus orthodox, Latin American and African.
-Sinic 5,000 years
-Japanese sprang from Sinic 100-400ad.
-Hindu 4,000-5,000-core of Indian civilization (15).
-Islamic-7th century CAD, sub-civilizations-Turkish, Arab and Indian, Malay, Iranian.
-Orthodox Russian-Byzantine parentage.
-West- 700-800 AD-Europe, North America, Latin America.
Latin America-Offspring of Europe evolved differently, authoritative culture. USA European, more corporatist, non-corporate indigenous culture wiped out in North America (16).
West Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand. US in conflict with Europe till WW I (17). Westernization has promoted a misleading conflation of westernization and modernization.
Africa-North and East coast- Islamic, south Africa fragmented European (18). Sub-Sahara African Christian.
Religion is the central defining character of civilization (19). Buddhism –Mahayana adopted, assimilated in china and suppressed. Lama vision spread to Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia-Theravada in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia (20).

Encounters Between civilizations:
For over 3,000 years contacts between civilizations were minimal or at best intermittent and intense (21).
Significant difference between Axial and pre-Axial age in recognition of transcendental and mundane order.
Axial-transcendental myths by:
-Jewish priests/prophets.
-Greek philosophers.
-Chinese.
-Brahmin
-Buddhist.
-Islam
Till 1,500 Andean and Mesa American no contact with the rest or each other, neither did Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Indian, Chinese interact with each other. Eventually did interact-East Mediterranean, North Indian and South Asian (23).
Buddhism spread to China with out conquest.
Printing started in china in 8 CAD, movable type 11 CAD, came to Europe in 15CAD. Paper china 2CAD, Japan 7CAD, Central Asia 8 CAD. Gun powder China 9 CAD, Arabs 300-400 years later. Europe 14 CAD (24).
Most significant contact by conquest and intermittent-7CAD Islam to Europe and India. Most conflicts with in civilization between India and Greeks/Persians.
West started emerging 8-9 CAD, took several hundred years to catch up, Islam 8-15 CAD, China and Byzantium 8-11 CAD far surpassed Europe (25). Europe 11-13 CAD began to develop borrowing from Islam and Byzantium. Hungary, Poland, Scandinavia, Baltic coast converted to Christianity 12-13 CAD, tried to wrest control over Spain and dominance over Mediterranean. Turks demolished the western overseas empire (26). By 1,500 renaissance was well underway.
End 15 CAD Spain won back. Portuguese went to Asia, Spanish to Americas. Over the next 250 years, all of Americas and a good bit of Asia, Europe under control of Europe by the end of 18 CAD USA and Haiti and Latin America revolted, later in the 18th CAD almost all of Africa, early 20th CAD, all of mid East except turkey. In 1920s Turkish empire divided up. Andean, Meso-American eliminated, Indian ,Muslim subjugated, China subjugated, Russia, Japan and Ethiopia independent.
Causes-Mercantilism, national course, rise of bourgeoisie, above all technology, ocean navigation and military and industrial revolution (28) and organized violence.
By 1910 international trade and investment higher than ever (29). Civilization and law was all western among Europeans peace was an exception. They had had 150 years of religious schism and dynastic wars. (30). Ottoman controlling ¼ of Europe, not considered European. Nation stats created following the French revolution was between nations and not between kings (31) till WW I.
1917 Russian revolution-conflict of ideologies-Russia, China, Vietnam, fascism, communism, capitalism. Now post European multi civilization system. Communism challenged the west.
Western power declined relations to the power of other civilization. International system multi civilizational and conflict in the west subdued since implosion of the USSR. North American and Europeans joined hands to dominate the rest more repressively.
20th Century ideology-Socialism, democracy, capitalism, Marxism, fascism, nationalism. The west never produced a major religion. Westphalia-separation of religion and international politics and religion more likely to intrude. Edward Mortimer (32). Global move foe one world (1920). Third world (1960), six worlds in 1990s. Islam, china, Russia, EU, multiple cleavage, as against cold war single cleavage.
International European system of 17to 19th CAD-International society was like its Greek, Indian, Islamic predecessors. 1918 Spengler denounced myopic western view of history as ancient, medieval and modern. Toynbee castigated “only one river of civilization , our own, all others tributary” Brandel “ the great multiplicity of its civilization” (35).

Universal Civilization: V.S. Naipaul (1) general coming together of cultures, acceptance of common values, beliefs…through out the worlds.
Human beings in all societies between some kind of family system and what is right and wrong (2), but that is not civilization. Vaclav Havel “global civilization is a thin veneer…conceals immense variety of culture…religion…tradition…attitude…” (3)Universal civilization could cover to what modern societies have in common-cities and libraries, assumption, values, doctrine, held by people in the west.
Davos culture believes in market economy and capitalism, control of all international institutions, many governments and bulk of economic=c/military capabilities…shared outside the west by over 50 million people. The common culture exists at the elite level-Hedley bull…(4).
The idea that pop culture and consumer goods…represent…the triumph of western civilization trivializes it whose essence is Magna Carta, not Mc Donald. US consumes millions of Japanese cars and TVs without being Japanized. A slightly more focusses on media/Hollywood. 88% of attended films in 1993 were American, 2% European and 2% Asian. Corporations dominate news dissemination in the world (5)., but problem is there is no convergence in attitude and belief. It is like sexual love.(6). Kishore Mahbubani Media are the most important manifestation of western power and a major source of resentment in the rest of the world. In 1994 CNN had 55 million viewers. Global newsroom is a tower of Babel (8).
Language in religion central element o civilization. In the former there is progress in the sense of the one people of different languages use increasingly language to communicate with each other (11). English’s , however used differently in the UK and USA, the subcontinent and even in the UK a person from the home counties finds it difficult to communicate well with a person from the Scottish highlands or London docks!
Religion: Late 20th CAD has seen resurgence of religious fundamentalism, reinforcing the difference them and us. In 20th CAD shift away from 0.2% non-religious in 1900 to 20.9% in 1980 (world Christian encyclopedia Oxford University press 1982)., Muslims from 12.4 % in 1900 to 20% in 1980(in the long run Islam wins by conversion (most in the US) and reproduction. Christians peaked in 1980 and now declining..
Universal civilization is a western concept (Muslim Ummah dates to 7th CAD) White man’s burden of colonial days. 20th CAD helps justify west and cultural dominance , most enthusiastic or intellectual immigrant-Naipaul and Fouad Ajmi, called white man’s niggers by Arabs (200.

Concept of Emergence-
1 End of history, liberal democracy only alternative to communism, but there are other religious and non-religious alternatives. Fall of the Soviet Union does not necessarily mean victory of western capitalism.
Increased interaction, communications, transport. Trade does not necessarily mean reduced conflict (21-22). Social sciences perspective destructiveness theory “people define themselves by what makes them different from others in a particular contest. A woman psychologist among other women professionals thinks she is a psychologist. Wit male psychologists she thinks she is a female(24). In a globalized world…there is an exacerbation of civlizational, societal, ethnic self consciousness, the return of sacred response to world as a single place (26).
Modernization since18th CAD equivalent to shift from primitive to feudal, mercantile, capitalist-industry, libraries, urbanization and social mobility. Tigris, Nile, Indus 5,000 BC (27). West was the first to modernize. As the rest acquire it, it will become universal culture.
But a few hundred years ago, all societies were traditional but not homogenous (29). Modern societies may get to resemble each other because of speed of communication. Modern society is industry based and less dependent on environment than agriculture based. Wittfogel’s hydraulic civilization thesis-rich land, large dams, a few wealthy land owners and a lot of peasant, serfs, slaves. In poor soil, lots of small independent farmers.
Western civilization is not modern civilization. It started developing in 8-9 CAD , modernized in 17-18CAD, characteristic of west civilization before modernization.
-classical legacy-Greek philosophy and rationalism, Roman law, Latin and Christianity.
Christianity: Sense of community among western Christians different from Byzantines, Turks and moors and used religion too for conquering colonies.
Reformation, counter reformation-protestant north, Catholic south, not so in eastern orthodoxy or Latin Americans
Languages multiple-Hindi, Mandarin, Russian-one from West romance ones and German from Latin.
State and Religion prevailing dualism, god and Caesar, Church and state. Not so in Islamic orthodoxy, china, Japan only in Hinduism Raja could be a priest too.
Centrality of law inherited from Romans. Medieval natural law and English common law to govern rulers behavior-land the basis of constitution and HR, not followed under absolute monarchs.

Social Pluralism:
Monastic orders, guilds, autonomous aristocracies, peasantry and the mercantile class. Feudal landowners kept the king from absolute power

.

No comments:

Post a Comment