Historical Interpretation Essay

Huntington’s Essay and Cultural Blocks

Huntington attempted to divide people into different ethnic groups in his essay, such as Westerners, Muslims, Hindus, Africans, and so on. He predicted that there would be cultural blocks, each with its own specific set of values and beliefs, rather than the presence of civilization. The communities from the Arab peninsula would not in any way find it acceptable to share in the general concepts that are of the Western world, according to Huntington, making Islamic the most problematic. He argued that the Arabs are not nationalistic and that they do not yearn for democracy as the people in the west do.

Questioning Huntington’s Assertions

In retrospect, Huntington could have committed an error as he based his essay on the events that were taking place at that period to try and predict the future. It now seems like the Arabs were just living in circumstances that did not allow for patriotism. For instance, during the Iranian revolution that occurred in 1979, the purpose of the revolution was in order to develop a system that would respect the principles of democracy and human rights. In another instance, the Democratic wins in the countries that are predominantly Islamic such as Egypt and Tunisia discredit “the clash of civilizations” theory.

Democracy and Human Rights Everywhere

Democracy is not a concept that is only applicable to the west but everywhere in the world. The rise in the number of revolutions that are pro-human rights in nature, among Islamic countries is evidence that discredits the theory, as it is the nature of human beings to want to participate in meaningful issues. Just as when democracy started in ancient Greece.

Bibliography

Delkhasteh, Mahmood. Clash of Civilizations Discredited. May 25, 2011. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/mahmood-delkhasteh/clash-of-civilizations-di_b_827810.html (accessed November 1, 2017).

Huntington, Samuel . The Clash of Civilizations. September 1993. http://www.bintjbeil.com/articles/en/d_huntington.html (accessed November 1, 2017).