Christian Realism & Christopher Dawson: the clash of civilizations

by David Pence


Samuel Huntington's 1993 book Clash of Civilizations argued that the end of the Cold War also ended a bipolar world of allies and enemies. The great clashes of the next century would  be along cultural and civilizational lines often determined by religion. He presented a world map and defined the civilizations. Here is a Charlie Rose interview with Professor Huntington.

And our 'Map on Monday' of the Huntington map with a succinct summary.

Must there be a clash, or can there be a dialogue, among civilizations? And is there a different, more Dawson-like, drawing of the civilizations which would link the Latin Americans, the West, and the Orthodox -- not as three different civilizations, but as three of five new manifestations of Christendom as a single religious culture spawning multiple civilizations. We will contrast this hardier Christian proposal in a later week. For now, it is important to appreciate the Huntington thesis as an important paradigm to make sense of the present alignment and civilizational fault lines among the nations.