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It is a rare event when a scholar makes an argument that garners widespread academic and popular attention-such can become the stuff of legend. In 1993, Samuel Huntington did just that when he penned an article in Foreign Affairs entitled "The Clash of Civilizations?" In it, he posited that the end of the Cold War did not herald the end of history, but rather a new age in which a "clash of civilizations" would come to define global politics. This clash would not be ideological or economic in nature, but cultural; as such, it would involve profound differences not easily reconciled.1
Huntington's thesis has proven remarkably persistent, as academics and pundits continue to grapple with it a quarter century after its initial publication.2 It has not merely garnered attention, but provoked a remarkable degree of passion representative of the deep divisions of the present age. This makes engaging with the thesis in a truly scholarly manner somewhat difficult; academics are people, after all, with their own prejudices and passions. Yet when engaged in a thoughtful manner, the thesis can be remarkably thought-provoking. Of course, this does not mean that one simply subscribes to it, but rather that even on points of disagreement, one is compelled to ponder such points carefully. In sum, the thesis can be a rich catalyst for thought and discourse.
The following articles are ample evidence of this. They engage the thesis from different intellectual, disciplinary, and faith perspectives. The result is a rich set of insights. They not only suggest answers, but also questions, not just of the thesis, but ourselves. After all, our responses to the thesis suggest something about our assumptions, and how these play out in our scholarly and personal lives. Whether overtly or "between the lines," each essay challenges the reader to consider issues of faith and international politics, virtues and practices, or values. In the process, each exemplifies an intellectual and professional engagement that represents the best of scholarship.
This essay will set the stage for the articles by providing a synopsis of Huntington's argument, as well as its "history" since its initial publication. It will follow with a history of this panel, briefly summarize each article, and close with some observations.
A quarter century after...