tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5987671941443740777.post5902495437519880261..comments2008-01-23T13:55:47.135-08:00Comments on Theory and Analysis: Emerging Lines of ConflictTravishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15015982681694634283noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5987671941443740777.post-79683068166623914202007-03-30T21:53:00.000-07:002007-03-30T21:53:00.000-07:00Hey Travis,To be quite honest, I don't see anythin...Hey Travis,<BR/><BR/>To be quite honest, I don't see anything behind Huntington's thesis. Admittedly, I didn't make it through his book, though I did read his Foreign Affairs article. <BR/><BR/>The main problem I have with Huntington is that he makes this huge set of assumptions that I think are just a little hard to buy into. In particular, the fact that he thinks the world can be divided into seven or eight civilizations is just bizarre. How can you classify, for instance, Islam as just one civilization? Muslims span multiple different countries and cover the entire range of personal customs, political perspectives, and world views. There is no one civilization there. Indeed, the 'Islamic civilization' is incredibly diverse. <BR/><BR/>Say what you will about Edward Said, he wrote a fairly interesting article in The Nation awhile back about Huntington's thesis that, I think, makes a similar point. Here's the link: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20011022/said<BR/><BR/>I'd be curious about your response to his article.Jeb Kooglerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06310943064240164001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5987671941443740777.post-63278459107661436952007-03-30T20:41:00.000-07:002007-03-30T20:41:00.000-07:00Thank you for the complements. It’s always good to...Thank you for the complements. It’s always good to get your feedback on these issues. On that note, what is it exactly that you find unconvincing about Huntington's thesis?Travishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15015982681694634283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5987671941443740777.post-65181922615199356062007-03-30T19:56:00.000-07:002007-03-30T19:56:00.000-07:00Good post. I don't agree with you entirely (I don'...Good post. I don't agree with you entirely (I don't see much depth to Huntington's thesis, for instance), but I do think that the Saudis' main concern at this point is Iran. They do seem to be going about it in a different way than how the Bush administration wants them to, however, which you articulate very well.Jeb Kooglerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06310943064240164001noreply@blogger.com