CULTURE, IDENTITY, ISLAM AND THE WEST.

 Colonialism: Theory or practice of establishing control over foreign territory and turning it into a colony. It is a
particular form of imperialism that is distinguished by settlement and economic domination.
 Neo-Colonialism: Involves economic domination without direct political control. Eg – US ‘Dollar imperialism’ in
Latin America.

 The Enlightenment: Intellectual movement in the 18th Century that challenged traditional beliefs in religion,
politics and learning in the name of reason and progress.

 Individualism: The belief in the supreme importance of the individual over any group or collective body.

 Permissiveness: The willingness to allow people to make their own moral choices. Absence of authoritative
values.

 Deference: Willing compliance with the wishes or expectations of others.

 Social Conservatism: The belief that societies should be based on a bedrock of shared values and common
cultures providing a necessary social ‘cement’.

 Identity: A relatively stable and enduring sense of selfhood. May be personal or social (group) or human
(everyone)

 Views on Identity:
1) Realist View:
Although their primary focus is on the behavior of the state, they believe that states are viewed as unified and
cohesive entities which reflects assumption about political and social belonging. According to them, Identity is
forged through the overlap between NATIONALISM and CITIZENSHIP and that this mix is natural as
psychologically we tend to identify with people who are similar to us.
2) Liberal Views:
According to them Identity is strictly in personal terms. Individuals possess unique identities and attributes that
are specific to them. They believe that this is a universal phenomenon and that’s why they think all humans
share the same status and are entitled to the same rights and opportunities. Thus, Identity is both unique and
universal. They do not think factors such as race, religion, culture, gender and social class are core to human
identity.

3) Critical Views:
- Marxism:
People tend to identify with those in the same economic position and class interests. According to Marxism,
these class based identities are simply a manifestation of the inequalities of the capitalist system.
- Social Constructivists:
Interests and actions of global actors (states or individuals) are influenced by their identity which is based on
non-material factors. Individuals can adopt different identities in different cultures.
- Egalitarian Feminists:
Reduce/Remove gender differences so we can stop the divide between otherwise identical humans.
- Difference Feminists:
Gender is the very root of identity.
 Liberal Democracy: a political regime in which there is a liberal commitment to limited government and is
blended with a democratic belief in popular rule.

Key Elements include – right to rule gained via elections, constitution keeps the government in check, vigorous
civil society including private enterprise, economy, free press and independent trade unions.

 Traditionalism: a belief in the value of tradition and continuity, proving society with a historically-rooted sense
of identity.

 Multiculturalism:
Refers to cultural diversity arising from existence of two or more groups whose beliefs generate a distinctive
identity within a society. (Descriptive)
Refers to a positive endorsement of communal diversity. (Normative)

 Ethnicity: Sentiment of loyalty towards a distinctive population, cultural group or territorial area. Has both racial
and cultural overtones.

 Clash of Civilization thesis: Conflict would not be ideological or economic but rather cultural.

 Culture: the way of life of people, their beliefs, values and practices. Embodies language, religion, traditions,
social norms and moral principles.

 Secularism: Belief that religion should not intrude into worldly affairs.

 Secularization thesis: Modernization is accompanied by the victory of reason over religion and displacement of
spiritual values by secular ones.

 Scriptural literalism: a belief in the literal truth of the sacred truth which as the word of God have
unquestionable authority.

 Occidentalism: A rejection of the cultural and political inheritance of the West. (Anti-Westernism)

 Salafism: Sunni school of thought associated with a strict, literalist approach to Islam.

 Wahhabism: An ultra-conservative movement within Sunni Islam.

 Wilsoniasm: Foreign policy that emphasizes the promotion of democracy as a means of ensuring peace.
Q) Is there an emerging ‘Clash of Civilizations’?
YES

1) Rise of Culture:
Culture is destined to be the primary force in 21st century global politics because ideologies have
faded since the end of Cold War and Globalization has weakened the state’s ability to generate a
sense of civic belonging. In such context, people and nations are confronted by the most basic
human questions: who are we? This forces them to define themselves in terms of ancestry,
religion, language, history and values; in short culture. States and groups from the same
civilizations will therefore rally to the support of their ‘kin countries’ and political creeds such as
nationalism and socialism will give way to ‘Islamization, Hinduization etc’

2) Cultural Conflict:
A stronger sense of cultural belonging leads to tension and conflict. This is, first, because different
cultures establish a different set of values and make cross-cultural understanding impossible to
bring about. Second, there is an irresistible tendency for people’s sense of self to be sharpened by
an awareness of the ‘other’: the people they are not; those they are against. This divides people
into ‘us’ and ‘them’.

3) Civilizational Tensions:
Certain trends have generated tensions in an increasingly multipolar and multi-civilizational character of the
world. These include long term decline of the West; the fading of US hegemony, the economic rise of Asia;
especially China, and the resurgence of Islam and a population explosion in a still unstable Muslim world.
China vs US and Islam vs West has increased tensions.

NO

1) Complex and Fragmented Civilizations:

The idea of conflict between civilizations is too simplistic. Cultures are portrayed as rigid giving rise to
narrow association between civilizations and unchanging sets of traditions, values and understandings.
The idea of ‘fault-line’ conflict is based on a homogenous model of civilizations which isn’t true as
civilizations are rather complex. For example, Islam and the West have influenced and continue to
influence one another.

2) Cultural Harmony and Peaceful Coexistence:

Cultural difference is not always linked to political antagonism. Cultural similarity does not guarantee
peace and stability: most wars take place between states from the same, not different, civilizations.
There is also considerable evidence that people from different cultures, religion or ethnic origins have
been to live together in relative peace and harmony. Eg – Balkans during the Ottoman era. And even
when different cultural groups clash this is more of a reflection of deeper political and social factors
rather than a rivalry of cultures.

3) Trends towards Cultural Homogenization:

It offers a one sided account of contemporary cultural trends. Globalizations and other forces have
already blurred cultural differences in many parts of the world. And if we choose to ignore this one
world image advanced by hyper globalists, there’s still great amounts of economic interdependence and
integrations which counter-balances any tendencies that may generate civilizational rivalry.