The Clash of Civilizations in the 21st Century: An Analytical Perspective from Contemporary Studies

Abstract

The world became acquainted with a new concept of civilization in the twenty-first century. In 1996, Samuel Huntington's article "The Clash of Civilizations," published in the US policy-making journal Foreign Affairs, provided a unique framework for understanding public opinion, normalizing global politics, and defining the contours of global politics. Events in Central Asia and Asia, American political and military interventions, the conflict in Ukraine, migrant displacement in Gulf countries, migration and Brexit, the ascendance of right-wing parties in America, and growing challenges in Europe have significantly linked the previous narrative of civilizational clashes to the modern and scientific understanding of the twenty-first century. The nature of relations between the West and Muslim nations greatly influenced the development of the executive's impression of a cultural clash. The Muslim world has been observed, comprehended, and dealt with since the end of the Cold War through a specific lens of antagonistic thinking and sentiment. Huntington also looked at how the relationships between the world's civilizations are currently faring today after the division of the world into this new cultural form. His claim was both supported and refuted in academic circles, and numerous scholarly and theoretical articles were written to evaluate, analyze, and critically assess it. The study considers both the scientific efforts that have been made to challenge this theory and validate it based on the primary research objective. Content analysis will be used as a research technique based on the qualitative method. It is clear from the
research and revision of the argument that Huntington's theory of the clash of civilizations breeds anxiety among rival and non-aligned civilizations. However, the current global environment can change this pessimistic perspective into peaceful coexistence by promoting unseen elements like modernity, interdependence on one another, and democratic trends.