The Clash: Identity, Civilization, and Sectarianism in the Middle East

In Samuel Huntington's The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, the author examines the rise of distinct "civilizations" in determining the tone of global politics after the fall of the Soviet Union. Huntington argues that civilizations will be responsible for future conflicts and that these conflicts will be found along the, what he terms, fault lines of his designated civilizations. While Huntington's thesis encompasses the numerous cultures and societies of the world, his examination of the Islamic civilization has sparked intense debate among scholars and laypeople alike and captured popular imagination since his article on which the book is based debuted in 1993. In some ways, Huntington's argument found greater resonance after the events of September 11th and the subsequent military conflict between the United States and various predominantly Muslim states. Though some might say that Huntington's proposal concerning future conflicts arising out of civilizational incompatibility has been confirmed by the events that have characterized the relationship between The West and The Islamic civilization since the beginning of the new millennium, parts of his thesis have also been seriously challenged and, in some cases, contradicted. The subject of the proposed paper will be a re-examination and critique of Huntington's Clash-of-Civilizations argument as it applies to his perception of the Islamic Civilization. Specifically, this paper will explore the role sectarianism plays in the "Islamic Civilization, and how might it challenge Huntington's argument The basic research question guiding and framing the proposed paper will be "In what ways have Huntington's Clash-of-Civilizations thesis been challenged by sectarian conflict in the Islamic Civilization?" To answer this question, I will examine the theoretical problems surrounding Huntington's conception of "civilizations" as well as highlight instances that do not conform to Huntington's predictions. It will be helpful to note that this question does not expressly deny the validity of Huntington's argument nor does it inherently reject Huntington's framework. Rather this question, as well as the proposed paper, will work within Huntington's argument to challenge parts of the author's thesis.;In the introduction of the paper I will present my argument and provide a conceptual road map that will detail how the paper will unfold. The first part of my paper will reconstruct Huntington's argument as well as situate his thesis in broader academic literature. Accordingly, I will trace arguments surrounding Huntington's book. In the next section I will re-introduce my argument and highlight significant problems in Huntington's thesis, especially in concern to the Islamic Civilization, and its relative silence on sectarianism. In the third section, I will move beyond the theoretical problems surrounding the Clash-of-Civilization thesis and examine ways in which events have challenged Huntington's predictions and counter the inevitability embedded in his argument.