By the end of the cold war the world politics were in its way of entering a new chapter. A chapter where the dominating conflicts would not only be cultural but also pointed at differences between separate civilizations. A worldwide division between cultural dissimilarities started to appear. Western civilization and the rest of the world were drawn apart because of the cultural dissimilarities. The conflicts would not occur between nation-states but between people within the areas and the fault lines among civilizations will be the battle lines in the upcoming.
According to Samuel P. Huntington, professor at Harvard University, the principal conflicts worldwide would not be involving nations but groups of different civilizations. The differences between two civilizations are not only through language, history and the cultural viewpoints but also the views of human rights, liberty and equality. This has brought new barriers to the world where we not will be asked the question which side we’re on but what we are, explains Huntington. The conflict in Bosnia is a good example of that where the war wasn’t between the states but between the people living in these areas and the differences between them, in this case the religion. An explanation to this is that there’s likely more easy to be a citizen of two nations instead of being half Muslim and half Jewish. This has not only brought huge differences but also an unsafe dimension of global politics.
In the second half of the twentieth century an explosion of global processes were produced by the western part of the world. The so called modernization did not only bring social and economic prosperity but also cultural modernization. The western culture was spread around the world and caused losses of personal identities according to Huntington. Global religiousness and cultural differences among people is therefore a cause of this action and the ”us” versus ”them” relation was established. A good example of that is President Bush declaration after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. He declared a war between religions (in this case Christianity and Islam, the West against Islam). The world has been divided into two groups, a pro-western group, Europe, North America, countries like Australia along with New Zeeland and a non-western group most of the Arab countries and poor countries that used to be colonies. The connection between these areas is likely cultural similarities. An example of that was the gulf war and as well as the war in Iraq nowadays.
The writer Wendell Bell wrote in the journal ”The Futurist”, September-October 2004, that globalization has not only brought western aspects but also non-western. He explains that we use among other things not only west-modern clothes but also Japanese TVs while drinking Jamaican coffee. Global corporations are big communities of different nations working together. He does not refer to our dissimilarities but he explains that working together brings us together, as humans, working against global problems. It is not our difference that keeps us away from each other’s but our way of being dishonest which brings injustice and intolerance. They way of minimize the problems in the world like terrorist attacks and all kind of intolerance is through social control. If we can control ourselves and the society we’re living in we can form a society of more tolerance and respect. Instead of overreact when something has happened we need to focus on negotiations and be more willing to talk and listen explains Wendell Bell.
It is in fact true that the world have become more westernized. Global Corporations is ruled by the west and western ideas of democracy, globalization, law, free markets etc have often a little resonance to other cultures explains Huntington. The west propagates for a universal civilization where all civilization is brought together ruled in a western way. But unlikely people around the world do not except these ideas especially areas in the world which have been westernized in an inexcusable ways.
As written earlier countries around the world have been divided into different groups and the word civilization has become more important. But there are countries that not have chosen a side and therefore losses a part of its identity according to Huntington. Countries like Mexico and Turkey wants to be a European supportive country and at the same time being Latin American and Muslim. An explanation to this is that both of the countries is near to the west and wants to be recognizing to it. These countries are so called torn countries. At the late time of the twentieth century Turkey declared itself to be a modern pro-west country and the state helped the western part in the world in the gulf war. At the same time elements in the society supported Islamic revitalization and argued that Turkey is a Muslim, Middle East country. As the same time Turkey is encouraged by the west it is encouraged by the non-western parts to. And it is thanks to this Turkey have had problem to found its new identity according to Wendell Bell.
Japan has become a good explanation of the dissimilarities between differences in our world. The economy prosperity in Japan is as high as in the rest of the western parts. It is in fact because of the cultural differences and instead of joining west in an economic, military and political campaign they refer to the non western countries. But why is that? According to Huntington it is because Japan does not want to, or in economical terms, Japan achieves more on the non-western side.
Unlikely there are some differences in the world culturally and we are seeing more problems between civilizations around the world every day. The end of the cold war meant that the global threat was over but it wasn’t. A flow of weapons is every day shipped across borders between western parts of the world and the non-western and everyone seeks for nuclear weapons. Is it harder to end this ”conflict” this time and should we be afraid of the future? In fact is that non western parts of the world are trying to be modern without being westernized. And it is up to the west to develop an understanding to other cultures even if there not democratic according to Huntington. There will not be a universal civilization but different civilization living next to each other and learn how to work together as humans and not west or non west individuals.
