Fukuyama, Huntington, Barber

Fukuyama, Huntington, Barber, Katzenstein, and Keohane all have diverse observations on the contemporary world situation. By comparing cultures, government systems and the general lifestyle of different groups, each of the essays attempts at summarizing the present-day day global climate. Although there is no one view that can completely capture the contemporary world state, Barber’s Jihad vs. McWorld paints the most precise picture of the contemporary world. Fukuyama makes an admirable attempt with his End of History where he describes a democratic victory following the Cold War. Fukuyama (1989, 3-18) describes a world directly after the Cold War where capitalism just triumphed over communist Russia. Once the western world successfully promoted capitalism and democracy over communism, the battle essentially is over according to Fukuyama. Liberal, pluralist democracies withstood the threat of communism. Although this view has decent general understanding of the battle between communism and liberal, capitalist democracies, it lacks a diverse worldview. Fukuyama has a narrow vision of the world as either democratic and liberal or communist. He groups all communist nations together as one entity and all of the western societies as another. This grouping over-simplifies the two government formats. Both communism and democracy can be measured in different degrees depending on the nation and the culture of the people. Fukuyama does not fully discuss the different degrees of the government systems. Communism following the Cold War does exist despite Fukuyama’s declaration of the ending of history. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a perfect example of a developing communist state. Fukuyama (1989, 3-18) says that:
“Western democracy is the final form of human government yet the handful of communist nations that still exist such as Vietnam have potential to become developed nations as soon as 2020.” Fukuyama underestimated nations outside of

Bibliography: Barber, Benjamin R. “Jihad vs. McWorld.” The Atlantic, March 1992, 53. (accessed October 20, 2010). BBC. “Vietnam country profile.” July 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/‌2/‌hi/‌asia-pacific/‌country_profiles/‌1243338.stm (accessed October 20, 2010). Fukuyama, Francis. “The End of History.” National Interest (1989): 3-18. http://www.cla.wayne.edu/‌polisci/‌kdk/‌Comparative/‌SOURCES/‌fukayama.htm (accessed October 20, 2010). Huntington, Samuel. “The Clash of Civilizations.” Foreign Affairs, Summer 1993. Katzenstien, Peter, and Robert Keohane. “Anti-Americanisms: Biases as Diverse as the Country Itself.” In Annual Editions: Comparative Politics 10/‌11., 166-168. N.p.: McGraw-Hill/‌Dushkin, n.d.