The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order

In the final chapter, Huntington explores the potential renewal or decline of Western civilization in a world increasingly defined by cultural identities and inter-civilizational tensions. Drawing from historical precedents and the theories of scholars like Arnold Toynbee and Carroll Quigley, Huntington argues that all civilizations undergo phases of emergence, rise, maturity, and eventual decay. He questions whether the West is exceptional or bound by the same historical cycles. Huntington critiques the Western belief in its own permanence and universalism, noting that civilizations at their peak often assume their dominance is eternal, just as the Romans, Ottomans, and British once did. Such assumptions are usually followed by decline. 

He challenges two assumptions commonly held by Westerners: That Western civilization is unique, and that its expansion will suppress the development of other civilizations. While acknowledging the West’s profound influence on modernization and industrialization, he maintains that the West is not immune to historical patterns. Other civilizations, particularly Islamic and Asian, are showing signs of resurgence, challenging Western global preeminence.

Huntington adopts Quigley’s model of civilizational phases to analyze the West’s trajectory. According to this framework, Western civilization emerged from the fusion of Classical, Christian, and barbarian cultures and has moved through stages of gestation, expansion, conflict, and now apparent maturity. He identifies the contemporary West as experiencing a “golden age” marked by peace, internal cohesion, and economic prosperity. However, such periods have historically been followed by stagnation and eventual collapse due to internal decay and loss of civilizational vitality. 

Civilizations decline, Huntington explains, when they divert their surplus resources toward consumption and nonproductive ends rather than innovation. Symptoms of such decay in the West include economic stagnation, demographic decline, and above all, cultural and moral disintegration. He points to increasing crime, family breakdown, declining educational standards, and weakening work ethics. Of particular concern is the erosion of Christianity and the weakening of social cohesion. In Europe, secularization has distanced people from the Christian roots of their civilization. In the United States, although religious observance remains strong, the country faces internal disunity driven by multiculturalism.

Multiculturalism, Huntington argues, poses a significant threat to American identity and, by extension, to Western unity. Historically, American identity has been based on Western cultural heritage and the political principles of the American Creed: Democracy, liberty, and individualism. However, in the late 20th century, intellectuals and policymakers began to reject these foundations in favor of group-based identities and cultural pluralism. This trend, Huntington warns, risks transforming the United States into a fragmented, multicivilizational society devoid of a shared cultural core. Without unity, the country may cease to function as a coherent nation. If the US becomes “de-Westernized” (307), the entire Western civilization could lose its global anchor and diminish into a marginal entity.

The internal struggle between multiculturalists and defenders of Western civilization is, in Huntington’s view, the “real clash” (307) within the West. American unity and leadership depend on reaffirming commitment to Western values. Internationally, this means embracing a shared Western identity, rejecting false affiliations with non-Western civilizations, and rebuilding strong transatlantic institutions like NATO and a potential transatlantic free trade area. Huntington envisions a possible “third Euroamerican phase” (308) of Western development, based on moral renewal and deeper integration between North America and Europe.

Turning outward, Huntington outlines three key implications for the West in a world defined by civilizational pluralism. First, Western leaders must abandon outdated Cold War mentalities and instead understand that cultural identities now shape global alliances and antagonisms. The US, he argues, has often misread conflicts—such as in the Balkans and Chechnya—by denying the cultural dimensions underlying them. Western policies aimed at global integration, such as NAFTA and engagement with China, have frequently ignored these realities and produced unintended consequences. 

Second, the persistence of Cold War alliances and treaties must be reconsidered in light of a new civilizational order. Institutions like NATO and the US-Japan security alliance were designed for different geopolitical conditions. Clinging to them without adaptation can lead to strategic errors, such as trying to contain China or dictate universal values in a diverse world. 

Third, Huntington criticizes the West’s belief in the universality of its values. This belief is, he contends, false, immoral, and dangerous. It ignores the cultural rootedness of other societies, assumes a civilizational superiority that justifies imperialism, and could provoke widespread backlash. As power shifts from the West to Asia and the Muslim world, Western universalism risks igniting intercivilizational conflict. He underscores this point with a hypothetical scenario of global war between Western, Islamic, and Sinic civilizations, sparked by American intervention in an East Asian dispute. The scenario ends with mutual devastation and the global center of gravity shifting to the global South, particularly Latin America and Southeast Asia.

To prevent such a cataclysm, Huntington proposes three rules for peace in a multicivilizational world: Abstention; joint mediation; and commonality. Core states must avoid intervening in conflicts within other civilizations. They should also jointly mediate fault line conflicts between civilizations to prevent escalation. Finally, civilizations should identify and cultivate shared values. Using Singapore’s efforts to define cross-cultural national values as a model, Huntington argues that peaceful coexistence depends on emphasizing overlapping principles, such as family, community, and religious tolerance, without forcing homogenization.

In the concluding section, Huntington contrasts cyclical and linear theories of history to question whether Civilization (with a capital “C”) is progressing or regressing. While modernization has improved material standards, he is skeptical that it has enhanced moral or cultural dimensions. Instead, he warns of a “global Dark Ages” (321) with rising lawlessness, weakened social structures, and decaying cultural norms. However, he also holds out the possibility of renewed cooperation among civilizations, calling on their leaders to pursue mutual understanding and respect.