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1. The Global West and Global South: Development Paths

Author:
Maria Zakharova
Publication Date:
01-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
East View Information Services
Abstract:
I would like to highlight the fact that Russia is notably absent, it would seem, from the “South-West” paradigm. This is because our country cannot be fully categorized as either Western or Southern. We exist everywhere, and yet we do not fit neatly into these constructs. Some perspectives associate Russia with the Global North, while others link us to the Global East. However, [Russia’s] 2023 Foreign Policy Concept, which Alexander Vladimirovich Yakovenko referenced, defines the Russian Federation as a “unique state-civilization and a vast Eurasian and Euro-Pacific power” – a scope broader than these conventional classifications. And in the context of our discussion today, it is imperative to acknowledge Russia’s influence on global affairs. The concept of the Global West is relatively straightforward; it encompasses the US, the EU countries, and to some extent the Asia- Pacific region, knit together by American-centric military, political, and economic alliances – what they call Euro-Atlantic values. This is a product of the historical West, which has been extending its influence over the non-Western world for around five centuries, starting from the Age of Discovery, in an attempt to dominate it by all possible means. However, it is worth noting that calling the current era neocolonialism may be overly generous. I would refrain from such a characterization, as it gives too much credit. While there are undoubtedly flaws in these cultures, they also have rich cultural histories. In recent decades, individuals have risen to power in the US and Britain whose thinking is characterized more by piracy and banditry than by a philosophical understanding of colonialism, which is by no means good. But this is worse than neocolonialism – it is outright robbery. To illustrate, I once used the analogy of the US acting like a cowboy in the Louvre who simply shoots everything in sight, unaware that the objects before him are valuable works of art.
Topic:
Security, Treaties and Agreements, Developing World, State, BRICS, Civilization, and Regional Organizations
Political Geography:
Russia, United States of America, Global South, and Global West

2. Civilizational War: The Will to Win

Author:
Andrey Ilnitsky
Publication Date:
01-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
East View Information Services
Abstract:
The US National Security Strategy defines the US as a global hegemon that sees no dividing lines between domestic and foreign policies and treats the world as its sphere of interests.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Globalization, National Security, War, Hegemony, Ideology, Civilization, Deep State, and Generative Models
Political Geography:
Russia and United States of America

3. One Universal Civilization: Superiority and Eurocentric Conception of the Rest

Author:
Fadi Zatari and Omar Fili
Publication Date:
06-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Turkish Journal of Middle Eastern Studies
Institution:
Sakarya University (SAU)
Abstract:
The prevailing notion suggests a universal or human civilization, positing all as subsets of a shared human experience. This article critiques this perspective, arguing that the contemporary concept of human civilization is predominantly synonymous with Western civilization. This article will elucidate its argument by drawing upon the insights of Western scholars in the field of civilizational studies. Subsequently, it will undertake a critical examination and assessment of the Western discourse, evaluating its outcomes as evidenced in contemporary foreign policy shaped by the historical backdrop of colonialism. The article uses direct quotations and historical narratives to not only scrutinize the inclination to depict Western civilization as singular, extraordinary, and unparalleled but also to highlight the persistent tendency to undervalue the importance of other civilizations, often termed as 'the rest'. It relies on primary materials authored by Western scholars concerning the notion of civilization, supplemented by secondary references citing influential intellectuals in the field. In addition to primary sources such as interviews and contemporary statements regarding pertinent events, secondary sources encompass literature on civilization within the framework of global south studies. The notion of Western civilization is depicted as a constructed political construct utilized to perpetuate Western hegemony, engender othering, and perpetuate colonialist agendas. This dynamic persists even in the post-Cold War era, wherein ongoing Western hegemony perpetuates dominance over non-Western powers. Instances reflecting this neo-colonialist paradigm include the US intervention in Iraq, the conflict in Afghanistan, and the ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza as of late 2023.
Topic:
Colonialism, Civilization, Eurocentrism, and Superiority
Political Geography:
Europe and Global Focus

4. A Genealogy of the Concept of Civilization (Medeniyet) in Ottoman Political Thought: A Homegrown Perception?

Author:
Mustafa Serdar Palabıyık
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
Institution:
Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
Abstract:
Since the first translation of the concept of civilization into Turkish as “medeniyet” in 1837 by Sadık Rıfat Pasha, the then Ottoman Ambassador to Vienna, this coinage has turned out to be an essential component of Turkish modernization. This paper aims to establish a genealogy of the concept of “medeniyet” to demonstrate the divergences of Ottoman perceptions in different periods throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It argues that civilization was first perceived by a group of Ottoman intellectuals as a tool to reach an ideal state of being (c. 1840-1860). The next generation of Ottoman intellectuals (c. 1860-1890) defined civilization as “the” ideal state of being, yet they had different views on the concept, particularly concerning the distinction between material and moral elements of civilization. Finally, the third generation of Ottoman intellectuals (c. 1890-1920), whose thoughts were more or less crystallized under three broad political currents labeled as Westernism, Islamism, and Turkism, had different and sometimes contradicting perceptions of civilization based on their political outlooks. By referring to the writings of these intellectuals, the paper will discuss central debates on civilization in the late Ottoman Empire, such as the singularity/plurality of civilization(s), the existence of Islamic civilization as an alternative to European civilization, the degree of importing from European civilization, and the distinction between culture and civilization. Moreover, it argues that the Turkish perception of “medeniyet” is different from the European perception of “civilization”; in other words, while the Ottoman perception of the concept of civilization is not homeborn, it is homegrown. Accordingly, Ottoman intellectuals not only divided the material and moral elements of civilization and opted for importing the former, but they also questioned the singularity and supremacy of European civilization by referring to “Islamic civilization” either as an extinct yet once-present form of civilization or as a potential rival to European civilization.
Topic:
Politics, History, Modernization, Civilization, and Ottoman Empire
Political Geography:
Turkey and Middle East

5. Turkey’s Post-2016 Foreign Policy Drivers: Militarisation, Islam, Civilisation and Power

Author:
Ahmet Öztürk
Publication Date:
03-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP)
Abstract:
Dramatic political changes in Turkey are not limited to the degradation of state institutions or the democratic backsliding. Turkey is experiencing a substantial change in foreign policy as well. In this context, this study argues that new Turkey’s new foreign policy understanding rests on four inter-related parameters that pertain to the priorities of the country’s ruling coalition: militarisation, Islam, civilisation and power.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Islam, Civilization, and Militarization
Political Geography:
Turkey, Middle East, and Mediterranean

6. The Silence of non-Western International Relations Theory as a Camouflage Strategy: The Trauma of Qing China and the Late Ottoman Empire

Author:
Hayriye Asena Demirer
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
Institution:
Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
Abstract:
My main argument in this article is that there have been at least three important barriers to the development of non-Western international relations theory (NWIRT): intellectual barriers (traumatizing effects of the imposition of the “standard of civilization”); ideational barriers (dominance of Western concepts and contexts); and scientific barriers (imposition of the standard of science). I argue that the silence of NWIRT is substantially a side effect of the strategy of mimicking the West, which was developed as an intellectual defense mechanism or as a camouflage strategy for the (re)establishment and the survival of non-Western states after their traumatic encounter with the Western states. Therefore, the surfacing of NWIRT discussions in the last decades can be attributed primarily to the maturation of an internal condition that is the revival of self-confidence in the residuals of former empires due to their regaining of rising power status and, thus, can be seen as a new phase of the ‘revolt against the West.’ On the other hand, I argue that the rise of NWIRT discussions are also related to the ripening of an external condition: some European schools of IR have been attempting to intellectually balance against the hegemony of American mainstream IRT, therefore, publication of edited books and special issues on NWIRT can also be read as searching for intellectual alliance with NWIRT.
Topic:
International Relations, Trauma, Civilization, and Ottoman Empire
Political Geography:
China, Turkey, Middle East, and Asia

7. Cultural Security in Shaping the Generation of Civilizational Advancement Within the Universalization of Cultural Transformations. Based on Research Conducted in Samoa

Author:
Mirosława Jaworowska
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The Author has demonstrated that Samoan youth is not indifferent to cultural universals, despite attempting to co-create them in the course of a multi-cultural dialogue and globalization processes. The study was founded on research results conducted through local observations and a questionnaire distributed among students of the Faculty of Education at the National University of Samoa in Apia. The research aimed to learn about the opinions, aspirations, attitudes, and value systems of Samoan students as they represent the educated elite of the 21st-century generation. The interviewed approve of contemporary civilizational novelties, as long as those do not harm the traditional culture. The socialization process in the Samoan youth has been occurring on a borderland between upbringing, traditional family-tribal, and the modern state-citizen education in schools and social life. Family and traditional customs are still vivid despite being more open to contemporary civilization and state developments. Although cautious towards novelties that might threaten the Samoan culture, these attitudes may be assessed as a reformatory. Based on the results obtained in Samoa, it is justifiable to state that the process of cultural transformation universalization has been occurring there in many areas of reality.
Topic:
Security, Development, Culture, and Civilization
Political Geography:
Asia-Pacific and Samoa

8. Women and Gender Equality: Justice or Civilization?

Author:
Mustapha Alhaji Ali and Halima Ali Buratai
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
The issue of gender justice has drawn the attention of gender scholars as does gender equality a justice or civilization. Because of this, the paper examined women and gender equality justice or civilization. In discussing these gender issues, several documents, reports, newspapers, magazines, archives, articles, journals, among others, were systematically reviewed to support the argument. Two theories were used in supporting the argument. These are Islamic Feminist and Liberal Feminist theories. The assumptions of these theories centered on gender equality and gender justice in society. The study found that gender equality is not civilization but justice. This is of the fact that both men and women are born equal and need equal justice for the development of the nation. The paper recommended that men and women should be given equal opportunity in all aspects of life in order to ensure gender justice. Parents and religious leaders should adhere to the principles of gender equality for the betterment of society.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Women, Justice, Civilization, and Equality
Political Geography:
Global Focus

9. Fast Forward Toward Civilisational Greatness: Agenda for India

Author:
Pradip Khandwalla
Publication Date:
12-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
India International Centre (IIC)
Abstract:
I want to share some ideas on how to create a great civilisation, especially in the context of modern India. These ideas have been elaborated in my book, Fast Forward Toward Civilizational Greatness: Agenda for India. In the modern context, to me, a civilisation is great, not because it is a super economic or political power, but, above all, if it is largely a humane, creative and excellence-seeking society. ‘Humane civilisation’ evokes in me the imagery of a people who are just, honest, and tolerant. They care for the weak and the needy. They are polite, civic-minded, lawabiding, generous and caring, even for foreigners. A humane civilisation nurtures and upholds the best virtues of humankind. As Gandhiji said, the greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane.
Topic:
Governance, State, Civilization, and Society
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

10. The Idea of Dialogue of Civilizations and Core-Periphery Dialogue in International Relations

Author:
Homeira Moshirzadeh
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
Institution:
Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
Abstract:
The idea of dialogue of civilizations, as was envisaged in the late 1990s and early 2000s, includes multi-layer, multi-actor dialogues. Civilization, when defined as “correspondence between material conditions of existence and intersubjective meanings,”[1] has epistemological and ontological elements that constitute the parameters of knowledge. One may easily claim that the existing knowledge of international relations has its roots in Western civilization and, if it is to become a truly global body of knowledge, it has to be nourished by contributions from various civilizations, mostly belonging to the “periphery”. Yet, even this is not enough if we just reach an archipelago consisting of various islands of knowledge without a connection to each other. What may help bridging these islands is dialogue. Dialogues among IR scholars from different civilizational backgrounds may lead to more mutual understanding and even may lead to some common grounds found in-between. Dialogues can be conducted both at inter-civilizational and intra-civilizational levels as civilizations cannot be taken as monolithic wholes. This article seeks to clarify the meaning and implications of dialogue of civilizations in IR. Furthermore, the way in which dialogue of civilizations in the discipline can be conducted and the expectations thereof are discussed.
Topic:
International Relations, Civilization, and Dialogue
Political Geography:
Global Focus