The Conflict Between China And The United States - 1386 Words

This foreign policy study will argue in favor of Samuel Huntington’s theory of the â€Å"clash of civilizations† through cultural divisions in the context of the increasing global conflict between China and The United States. In essence, the â€Å"clash of civilizations† between China and the United States will be primarily based on the problem of cultural hegemony in the 21st century struggle for global dominance between these two modern nation states. Huntington’s theory provides ample evidence of the growing clash of religious cultural values, which are often based on the atheistic principles of Chinese governing policies and the moral and ethical issues of pro-religious Christian values of western nations. The perception of China as a†¦show more content†¦The importance of cultural factors in Huntington’s theory of the â€Å"clash of civilizations† beholds a far more powerful influence than is typically assumed in the neoliberal materialism of the 21st century. China’s rise as a superpower has typically been defined through the context of economic, financial, and ideological forces that have historically been a threat to the United States. However, Huntington’s (1996) cultural theory of the â€Å"clash of civilizations† does represent the underlying presence of conflicts through the old nation-state system as a cultural barrier, yet he defines the cultural values of a â€Å"civilization† as a much older source of conflict: â€Å"Westerners tend to think of nation states as the principle actors in global affairs. They have been that, however, for only a few centuries. The broader reaches of human history have been the history of civilizations† (p.24). This aspect of culture is defined through the differing regions and cultural values of a â€Å"civilization†, which define a much broader source of conflict in the beliefs and values that create conflict. In this manne r, Huntington (1996) provides important insight into the cultural values that are currently involved in the clash of civilizations between the U.S. and China in global affairs. This will be an important part of the underlying process of the war-like cultural differences between China and the U.S. that are a major part of global conflict in the 21st century. For