In "The New Era in World Politics" author Samuel Huntington discusses the "bloody clash of clans" in Somalia and the genocide in Rwanda to illustrate...

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Huntington's "clash of civilizations" thesis distinguishes conflicts that occur within a single civilization from those that occur between different civilizations, and he uses examples like Somalia and Rwanda to make that distinction.

1. Relevant knowledge points and concepts
- Civilization: a broad cultural grouping (e.g., Western, Islamic, African) sharing language, history, religion, and customs.  
- Clash of Civilizations thesis: post-Cold War major conflicts will often align along civilizational fault lines.  
- Intra-civilizational vs. inter-civilizational conflict: fights within the same civilization are less likely to expand into international or global wars than fights between different civilizations.

2. Step-by-step reasoning process
- Identify the examples: Somalia’s “bloody clash of clans” and the Rwandan genocide were intensely violent but were primarily internal, involving clans or ethnic groups within the African civilizational sphere.  
- Classify the conflicts: both involve actors who belong to the same broader civilizational category (African societies) rather than opposing civilizations such as “Islamic” vs. “Western.”  
- Apply Huntington’s logic: because these were intra-civilizational disputes, they lacked the cross-civilizational dynamic Huntington predicts will drive major international conflicts.

3. Intermediate steps / evidence points
- Somalia: clan-based competition for power and resources after state collapse, largely internal actors.  
- Rwanda: Hutu-Tutsi genocide rooted in local ethnic and political tensions, with limited external civilizational involvement.  
- Neither case produced sustained international wars between different civilizations.

4. Why the correct answer is correct
Huntington uses these cases to show that many violent conflicts are internal to a civilization and thus have less propensity to escalate into international or civilizational wars—supporting the point that not every violent conflict signals a broader inter-civilizational clash.

5. Why other options are incorrect
- “Clashes across civilizations that spilled into the global sphere”: incorrect because Somalia and Rwanda were not primarily inter-civilizational or globalized conflicts.  
- “Proxy wars”: incorrect because proxy wars imply external powers using local actors; these were mainly internal breakdowns.  
- “Clashes that follow no civilizational lines, disproving his point”: incorrect because Huntington cites them as examples consistent with his distinction between intra- and inter-civilizational conflicts, not as disproof.

6. Conclusion
Therefore, the best answer is: "Clashes within civilizations that have less chance of becoming international conflicts," which matches the provided correct answer.

In "The New Era in World Politics" author Samuel Huntington discusses the "bloody clash of clans" in Somalia and the genocide in Rwanda to illustrate...Single choice

Similar Questions

In "Governance, Legitimacy and Security" author Mary Kaldor argued that Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations" argument: select all that apply

In "The Clash of Ignorance" author Edward Said uses the image of Popeye and Bluto "bashing eachother mercilessly" to satirize Huntington's depiction of...

In "Civilizational Imprisonments: How to Misunderstand Everybody in the World" author Amartya Sen criticizes the "clash of civilizations" argument. Some of his critiques are that the "clash of civilizations" argument... (select all that apply)

According to lecture, Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations" thesis ignores the fact that the major world religions are themselves complex hybrids that change significantly over time.

For stock A, we have 𝛽 𝑖 = 0.70. Suppose the expected market risk premium next year is 9% and the risk-free rate is 3%. What is the expected return of this stock based on the CAPM? (Please answer in % and round to 2 decimal places. If the answer is 8.057%, then in the box, write 8.06)

More Practical Tools for Students Powered by AI Study Helper

Homework AI Solver

Stylized AI Paper Writer

Plagiarism Checker Assistant

Citation AI Academic Writing Tool

In-Class Translation Assistant

AI Note Generator

AI Quiz Answers

Past Exam Questions from University Test Bank

Smart Practice Assistant

Adaptive Practice

Making Your Study Simpler