Comparative Politics and Religion

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Comparative Politicsand Religion

• POLITICAL PROBLEMS OF THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD
• PS 597n.02
• MR DOUG PERKINS

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THE FUTURE

• It is my hypothesis that the fundamental source
  of conflict in this new world will not be
  primarily ideological or primarily economic. The
  great divisions among humankind and the
  dominating source of conflict will be cultural.
  Nation states will remain the most powerful
  actors in world affairs, but the principal
  conflicts of global politics will occur between
  nations and groups of different civilizations.
  The clash of civilizations will be the battle
  lines of the future. (Huntington 1993 22)

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BASES OF CONFLICT

• Rival Hypotheses
• Cold War
• First, Second, and Third Worlds
• Some kind of new power conflict
• Economic Divisions
• Modernization theory
• Developed, Developing, UD/Pre-modern
• What else might cause conflict?
• Why civilizations?

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WHAT IS A CIVILIZATION?

• Cultural Entity
• Broadest level of identification
• Language, history, religion, customs,
  institutions, self identification of people.
• The differences between them are basic,
  fundamental, and cannot be compromised.
• What is the Western Civilization?
• Do on board
• Be able to recognize each of them, their aspects,
  and their centers.

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WHY WILL THEY CLASH?

• There cannot be compromises
• Interactions increase as world gets smaller
• Economic modernization challenges old identities
  (is this new? Slv vs. W)
• Dual role of the west
• Foster McWorld, but encourages Jihad
• Economic regionalization cuts down on useful
  interaction and reinforces cultural identities

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WHERE WILL THEY CLASH?

• Fault lines
• Examples?
• Yugoslavia
• Middle East
• Horn of Africa
• Former Soviet Union?
• Others?
• Why not here?
• NEXT Evaluate the Research Design