Int’l Seminar The first article entitle “The Summoning” by Fouad Ajami begins with a quote from Marlowe that emphasizes that all civilization has been affected by western ideas and thought. Immediately he attacks Huntington’s essay “The Clash of Civilizations?” Not only does he demolish the ideas set forth by Huntington, Ajami sets forth his own ideas on the current instability among nations.Ajami does not believe that civilizations will clash over race and does not acknowledge the “de-westernization” of societies. He believes that Huntington places far too much emphasis on tradition. “We have been hearing from traditionalists, but we should not exaggerate their power, for traditions are often more insistent and loud when they rupture, when people no longer really believe and when age-old customs lose their ability to keep men and women at home.”His ideas on tradition clearly undercut Huntington’s ideas on the re-emergence of tribalism. He says instead of states splintering because of secular groups they will stay coherent out of necessity and fear of chaos. Ajami sums up his essay with an age-old philosophy of self-help and self-interest. I see this article as a welcomed alternative to the fairly depressing world that Huntington has prescribed for us.In “The End of Progressivism” Eisuke Sakakibara again looks over the history of conflict and does not believe that conflict comes from sheer ethnicity alone. Instead he points to economic and environmental problems. He also denies the premise made by Fukuyama. He argues that we have not entered the end of history but we are still evolving. There are still non-capitalist approaches to government and economy. He points to the example of China’s social market economy. This article seems mainly to deal with the economic side of government and conflict. He points to the fact that civilizations ri...
