Huntington’s disease and the clash of civilisation-states
Our new Charlemagne columnist ponders Europe’s future
SAMUEL HUNTINGTON was almost right. The late American professor pricked a bubble of Western triumphalism with a gloomy prediction of strife in “The Clash of Civilisations?” in 1993. Where he erred was the medium through which this friction would take place. Rather than civilisations rubbing against one another as groups of nation-states, as Mr Huntington forecast, the 21st century is witnessing the rise of the “civilisation-state”.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Huntington’s disease”
From the January 4th 2020 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Europe
Russian pilots appear to be hunting Ukrainian civilians
Residents of Kherson are dodging murderous drones
Can the good ship Europe weather the Trumpnado?
Tossed by political storms, the continent must dodge a new threat
Spain’s proposed house tax on foreigners will not fix its shortage
Pedro Sánchez will need the opposition’s help to increase supply
A French-sponsored Ukrainian army brigade has been badly botched
The scandal reveals serious weaknesses in Ukraine’s military command
A TV dramatisation of Mussolini’s life inflames Italy
With Giorgia Meloni in power, the fascist past is more relevant than ever
France’s new prime minister is trying to court the left
François Bayrou gambles with Emmanuel Macron’s economic legacy