6 - Final Thoughts

Summary

When civilizations encounter each other, they trigger one of the most powerful currents of social and political change known to humankind. Yet, these changes do not amount to a “clash of civilizations”. As Peter Katzenstein notes, “Civilizations exist in the plural. They coexist with each other …” (Katzenstein 2010: 2). In this essay, I have challenged the strategic view of the encounter among civilizations, a view initially offered by Samuel Huntington but which found a wide international audience in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and the global war on terror led by the United States. The insights from the flow of ideas between india and Southeast Asia show that the interaction among civilizations should be understood not just in material terms, but also in ideational ones. Analyzing such interactions through the lens of local initiative, localization and convergence demonstrates that the process of such inter-civilizational encounters can be pacific, and their outcome productive. Not only those who bring in the new ideas, but also those who borrow them, are often motivated by a desire for self-legitimation and universalization. The history of civilizations may thus be told not in terms of blood, treasure and conflict, but ideas, identity and mutual benefit.