Analysis of Frances Fukuyama’s “The End of History” and Samuel Huntington’s “Clash of Civilizations”
Section1: Quesiton1
When looking at the state of international relations in the post September 11th era, it is important to revisit influential arguments made by renowned political scientist in the past and see if they still apply today. Two theories, Frances Fukuyama’s “The End of History” and Samuel Huntington’s “Clash of Civilizations” have caused much debate in terms of their validity in this new era. While both theories emerged in the post-Cold War era, many try and fit them into the post 9-11 era. This paper will look at the two theories and explain through analysis how they fail to apply to the current international system.
In “The End of History” Fukuyama’s main argument essentially states that the end of the Cold War marks the end of history for “mankind’s ideological evolution” and that western liberal democracy is the “final form of human government.”1 There are two reasons why Fukuyama’s argument doesn’t work in the post 9-11 era. The first is the important in the rise of non-democratic capitalist sates and the second is the impact of radical Islam in the last six years.
Fukuyama’s thesis was written after the Cold War and is expressively pro-democracy. He believes that liberal democracies are the highest achievable form of government that cannot be superseded by a better form of government. However, the rise of capitalist non-democratic states, such as China and Russia in the post 9-11 era, are example of this not being the case. In his article “The Return of Authoritarian Great Powers,” Azar Gat poses the possibility that as these countries become just as economically advanced as other democracies, they will remain non-democratic authoritarian capitalist regimes. Gat says, “There is nothing in the historical records to suggest that a transition to democracy by today’s authoritarian capitalist powers in inevitable, whereas there is a great deal to suggest that such powers have far greater economic and military potential than their
When looking at the state of international relations in the post September 11th era, it is important to revisit influential arguments made by renowned political scientist in the past and see if they still apply today. Two theories, Frances Fukuyama’s “The End of History” and Samuel Huntington’s “Clash of Civilizations” have caused much debate in terms of their validity in this new era. While both theories emerged in the post-Cold War era, many try and fit them into the post 9-11 era. This paper will look at the two theories and explain through analysis how they fail to apply to the current international system.
In “The End of History” Fukuyama’s main argument essentially states that the end of the Cold War marks the end of history for “mankind’s ideological evolution” and that western liberal democracy is the “final form of human government.”1 There are two reasons why Fukuyama’s argument doesn’t work in the post 9-11 era. The first is the important in the rise of non-democratic capitalist sates and the second is the impact of radical Islam in the last six years.
Fukuyama’s thesis was written after the Cold War and is expressively pro-democracy. He believes that liberal democracies are the highest achievable form of government that cannot be superseded by a better form of government. However, the rise of capitalist non-democratic states, such as China and Russia in the post 9-11 era, are example of this not being the case. In his article “The Return of Authoritarian Great Powers,” Azar Gat poses the possibility that as these countries become just as economically advanced as other democracies, they will remain non-democratic authoritarian capitalist regimes. Gat says, “There is nothing in the historical records to suggest that a transition to democracy by today’s authoritarian capitalist powers in inevitable, whereas there is a great deal to suggest that such powers have far greater economic and military potential than their