Bulletin n. 1/2008
May 2008
CONTENTS
  • Section A) The theory and practise of the federal states and multi-level systems of government
  • Section B) Global governance and international organizations
  • Section C) Regional integration processes
  • Section D) Federalism as a political idea
    • Adib-Moghaddam Arshin
    A (short) history of the clash of civilizations
    in Cambridge Review of International Affairs , Vol. 21, n. 2, June ,  2008 ,  217-234
    Where does the clash of civilizations thesis and its underlying us-versus-them mentality come from? How has the idea been engineered historically and ideologically in the 'east' and 'west'? What were the functions of Christianity and Islam to these ends? These are some of the questions that will be discussed in this article that engages both the clash of civilizations thesis and the discourse of 'Orientalism' more generally. Dissecting the many manifestations of mutual retributions, the article establishes the nuances of the 'clash' mentality within the constructs we commonly refer to as 'Islam' and the 'west', showing how it is based on a questionable ontology, how it has served particular political interests and how it is not inevitable. What is presented, rather, is a short genealogy of this idea, dispelling some of its underlying myths and inventions along the way.
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