Worksheet on Samuel P.

Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations

(Chapter 1: The New Era in World Politics)

BEFORE STARTING, PLEASE NUMBER THE LINES IN THE TEXT!

Answer these questions on a separate sheet. Work in groups; maybe divide the task among you to save
time. Check your grammar and spelling.

Part A: Introduction: Flags and Cultural Identity (line 1-72)

1. Define the following terms as used in the text

1.1. Cold War (line 11)

1.2. Weltanschauung (l. 34)
1.3. demagogue (l. 35)
1.4. ethnicity (l. 42)
1.5. Westernization (l. 49)
1.6. world order (l. 58)

2. Write down your own thoughts on the meaning of “upside-down flags”.

3. Interpret the “Proposition 187” incident. What does it signify?

4. Huntington and the term “Cultural Identity”. (l. 29-47)

4.1. Nowadays, what symbolizes cultural identity?
4.2. Interpret Michael Dibdin’s description of “Weltanschauung” and the importance of “enemies” and
“hate” among peoples for the understanding of cultural identity?
4.3. Which other term instead of “cultural” does Huntington use to define identity?

5. What do you think the terms “multipolar and multicivilizational” mean in this context? (l. 48f)

6. Westernization and modernization, what has changed? (l. 48-51)

7. What happens to the West? (l. 48-57)

8. What is changing in world politics? (l. 52-57) Explain in your own words.
8.1.1. Asian civilizations
8.1.2. Islam
8.1.3. Non-Western civilizations

9. What does the sentence “societies sharing cultural affinities cooperate with each other” mean? (l. 58)

10. Conflicts arise between whom? (l. 62-66)

11. “Westerners accepting their civilization as unique not universal and uniting”; what does that mean? (l.
68)

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Part B: A Multipolar, Multicivilizational World
(line 73-185)
1. Define the following terms as used in the text

1.1.1. bipolar (l. 84)

1.1.2. non-aligned (l. 90)
1.1.3. new world (l. 121)
1.1.4. Iron Curtain (l. 148)

2. When did the modern era begin?

3. Which states formed a multipolar system, for how long, within which system? (l. 74-83)
3.1.1. Who?
3.1.2. How long?
3.1.3. Wherein?

4. What changed during the Cold War? (l. 83f)

5. What are the three parts the world was divided into? What defined them? Who led them? (l. 83-90)
5.1.1. Divided into
5.1.2. Defined by
5.1.3. Led by

6. When did the Cold War end?

7. Identification (l. 91-102)

7.1.1. What did differentiate peoples before and in the Cold War?
7.1.2. What do people identify with now?

8. Interpret the statement in line 101f (“We know…”)

9. In addition to the pursuit of power and wealth, what else do nation states now consider to shape their
behaviour?

10. What has replaced the Cold War blocs? (l. 105ff)

11. What do non-Western societies reject? (l. 109ff)

12. What defines local and global politics? (l. 115-120)

13. What does the “clash of civilizations” mean?

14. What disagreements will replace social and economic conflicts? (l. 122-138)

15. People become separated by ____________________ but united by ______________________. Explain

this sentence according to the unification of the “Two Germanys” in 1989. (l. 140ff)

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16. Whom did the Iron Curtain separate before? Whom does it separate now? (l. 139-151)
16.1.1. Before
16.1.2. Now

17. List the items that differ among civilizations. (l. 161ff)
17.1.1. A
17.1.2. B
17.1.3. C
17.1.4. D
17.1.5. E

18. East Asia (l. 158-160)

18.1.1. What is its source of economic success?
18.1.2. What is its source of difficulties to achieve a stable democratic political system?

19. What is the choice now for non-Western societies? Explain in your own words. (l. 167-175)
19.1.1. A
19.1.2. B

20. How many civilizations are there in the post-Cold War world? Can you name them?
20.1.1. How many?
20.1.2. Which are they?