Clash of Civilizations

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Clarissa

March 13, 2014

One very sad thing to come out of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the colonization of the media across the globe by the discourse of the clash of civilizations. I started reading my blog roll 10 minutes ago and already discovered 3 “What’s happening in Ukraine is so totally about the clash of civilizations” articles coming out of the US, UK, and even Spain.

I understand that many people can’t rest easy until they have found some familiar narrative to explain what’s happening but why this particular (and particularly obnoxious) narrative?

All of the countries participating in the conflict, both directly and at a distance, are very obviously from the same civilization. Russia has been colonizing Ukraine, in some form or another, for centuries. What do the weird theories concocted to entertain the unintelligent have to do with this conflict?

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6 responses to “Clash of Civilizations”

p. stachio

March 13, 2014

Ukraine is and has been a Sovereign Nation.
Putin’s INVASION is the act of a Bully using the threats and intimidation of military might force and devastation.
This invasion, occupation, restriction of Ukraine Military at their bases and blockade of the Ukraine Navy at port are ALL —— ACTS OF WAR.
Ukraine has made no provocations to substantiate or justify these hostilities.
Russia is not going to respond to diplomacy / no more than a bully or a thief or a rapist would respond to pleadings, logic or rationality.
This cannot end well….. as time passes patience diminishes and one shot fired which is at some point inevitable will launch an all out conflict.

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1. Clarissa
  
  March 13, 2014
  
  Exactly. Thank you for this great comment.
  
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ladyleahjane

March 13, 2014

Oh cripes, first year political science students are given that article (Huntington’s) in order to give them their first lesson in ripping apart faulty logic; how are a bunch of people who presumably graduated university already falling for that hook, line and sinker?

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1. Clarissa
  
  March 13, 2014
  
  You know? I had no idea so many people found this idea appealing.
  
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valter07

March 13, 2014

I particularly dislike this clash of civilization paradigm, not only in Russia versus Ukraine framework, but also in the more general Russia versus the West framework. Why wouldn’t everyone (including the Russians) admit that Russia is part of the West, at least since Peter the Great? The West is not some homogeneous mass, and Greece or Italy are different from the US or Sweden. But no one seriously doubts they are all parts of the West… The world would be much better place if the West recognized Russia as part of the West and Russia in turn abandoned this crazy belief about some “special path”…

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1. Clarissa
  
  March 13, 2014
  
  Golden words, simply golden.
  
  “Why are the Russians so obsessed with the US?” my friend from Argentina asked today and I realized that the whole thing does look ridiculous from the outside.
  
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