interview prep

premise of huntington’s argument

primary source of conflict post cold war will not be ideology or economics, but culture and civilization

huntington’s civilizations

1. western

2. confucian/sinic

3. japanese

4. islamic

5. hindu

6. slavic-orthodox

7. latin american

8. african 

confucianism

philosophical/ethical system from ancient china, emphasised morality, social harmony and familial responsibility, has influenced japan too

huntington quote on local and global politics

“local politics is the politics of ethnicity; global politics is the politics of civilizations"

ethnicity

people who share a common descent or cultural background

huntington- torn countries

nations stuck between civilizational identities eg russia between orthodoxy and the west

the west versus the rest quote

huntington; “what is universalism to the west is imperialism to the rest”

huntington- fault lines

where civilizations meet, most likely to have conflict (israel/palestine)

huntington- core state conflicts

most dangerous conflicts will be between leading states of entire civilizations eg US and China, Russia and West

huntington vs fukuyama

huntington warns against the arrogance of ‘universalism’, the west is one civilization among many. he also thinks there will be cultural conflict not convergence towards western values.

huntington- kin country syndrome

states rally to support those from their own civilization in conflicts, eg syrian civil war

syrian civil war

sunnis (turkey and saudi arabia) backed sunni rebels and shia (iran) backed assad regime

criticisms of huntington

• oversimplification- ignores economics, class and internal politics

• deterministic- civilizations are monolithic and destined to clash

• self fulfilling prophecy- if policymakers adopt his view they may encourage hostility

• ignores cross civilizational cooperation- globalisation etc

• islam/west focus- he exaggerates inevitability of western islamic conflict

civilization (according to huntington)

common objective elements like language, history, religion, customs, institutions and by the subjective self-identification of people

realist theory on world order

suggests non-western states should join together to balance the dominance of the wets

realist theory

politics is a competition among self-interested states vying for power and security

huntington vs realism

he sees conflict as arising from cultural/religious differences, not pursuit of power and security

noam chomsky on huntington

argued involvement of west in supporting islamic fundamentalism terrorist groups eg mujahideen and syrian civil war

core western values

individualism, democracy, human rights, rule of law

operation cyclone

the CIA program providing weapons/money to mujahideen after soviet invasion of afghanistan

Iran’s ruler in 1977 who faced massive protests

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

Iran leader who established anti-American Islamic Republic in 1979

Ruhollah Khomeini

thucydidean power politics

the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must

positive vs normative statement

positive is empirical, normative is opinionated

publication of clash of civilizations

article 1993, full book 1996

publication of end of history

1992

bush on fukuyama’s theory

insisted US actions in Iraq were on Fukuyaman terms, “there is no clash of civilizations”

examples proving Fukuyama’s theory

EU, conflict between islamic factions, conflicts in africa, US seeking international legal approbation for Iraq, Libya, Balkans, Russia/Ukraine

examples proving Huntington’s theory

Russian annexation of Crimean peninsula, Israel/Palestine

premise of end of history theory

end of cold war marks the end of history as well as the end of a geopolitical conflict, liberal democracy and free market capitalism are the final form of political and economic organisation

hegel’s belief of the end of history

thought french revolution marked the end of history

thymos

the human desire for recognition, being respected and valued

megalothymia

wanting to be acknowledged by others as superior

isothymia

being content with equal recognition

why did fukuyama argue russia could become a nationalist authoritarian country?

the collapse of the USSR left a power vacuum and the country was vulnerable to a strong leader offering national pride, order and stability.

nationalism and thymos

nationalism is like a group version of thymos

“tyranny of the majority”

tocqueville

realpolitik

foreign policy based on interests and power, not ideals

bipolar/multipolar power distribution

when 2/multiple states dominate over all the others

jingoism

extreme patriotism

populism

a political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups

fukuyama’s view on populism

it is now the biggest threat to the democratic world order as it “constitutes a rejection of the liberal part of liberal democracy”.

pluralism

states are diverse but have coexisting entities, pluralists accept diversity and sovereignty as necessary

solidarism

a unified global moral order, solidarists aspire to universal norms and social justice

premise of mayall’s argument

the stability of international norms, rooted in sovereignty and pluralism, means that meaningful progress in world politics is slow and constrained

mayall quote on sovereignty

“sovereignty has always been more highly regarded by the weak and vulnerable than by the strong”

self determination

the process by which a country determines its own statehood and forms its own government

primordialism

theory of national identity that suggests nations are rooted in ancient ethnic communities

modernism

theory of national identity that suggests nations are unnatural, recent creations and myths are invented/adapted and histories are used to make states and nations align

mayall drawing on gellner

gellner said nationalism is needed for modernisation

mill’s view on self determination

partition can be used to create freedom

lincoln’s view on self determination

all citizens have equal rights so minorities should try and win power democratically

powell’s view on self determination

an overarching sense of community should be used to overcome smaller divisions

teleology

when something is explained by its purpose/outcomes rather than its cause

premise of runciman’s argument

looks at fragility of modern democracy and suggests now democracies will decline slowly and subtly, unlike in the past where they collapsed violently

zombie democracies

formerly democratic states that have been hollowed out

soft coup

populist leaders create zombie democracies by undermining courts/media but keeping the facade of elections, eg Orban and Erdogan

runciman’s 3 threats to modern democracy

1. soft coups

2. catastrophe

3. technological takeover

why are coups a sign of democratic backwardness

citizens of a democracy with popular legitimacy will not be bystanders during an attack

runciman’s link between disenfranchisement and conspiracy theorists

he found a clear link and i linked this to cults- peoples temple recruited many poor african americans in the 70s

countries experiencing populist backlashes

runciman pointed out they are areas that have been succeeding with democracy for a while

churchill quote

democracy is ‘the worst form of government except for all those other forms’

epistocracy

government run by citizens with political knowledge

mill epistocracy

wanted a voting system where the number of votes someone had was based on their job

happiness and voter behaviour

unhappier voters are more likely to vote for populist parties

hotta’s main reasons for pearl harbour

1. confused leadership

2. divided politics

3. culture of indecision and fatalism

prince konoe

PM between 1937-39 and 1940-41, fascinated by fascism but ultimately wanted peace

general tojo hideki

became PM in oct 1941, decisive and military mindset

japanese sayings

• put a lid on what smells bad

• unable to read the air

emperor hirohito

wished to avoid war but approved of it so tojo wouldn’t resign and stage a coup

nomura and kurusu

ambassadors to the US who were unaware they were being used to deceive the US as they continued diplomacy when Japan had already decided on war

capitol building

6th january 2021, 5 deaths and over 140 injuries to law enforcement

secularism

when the state is separate from religious institutions

pluralism

when different beliefs/groups coexist

modi

indian PM since 2014, part of right wing bharatiya janata party with policies that adhere to hindutva

2022 study with indians found 90% agreed with what statement

india is a better country than most other countries

viktor orban

Hungarian PM since 2010, leads fidesz party

fidesz party rhetoric

illiberal, eurosceptic, populist, anti-immigrant, against LGBTQ+, protecting hungary’s christian identity

how hungarian has become a zombie democracy

• reduced size of parliament to benefit larger parties

• gerrymandering districts to give fidesz advantage

• voting rights for hungarians abroad

• 80% of media outlets controlled by gov allies

• national judicial office gives political control over appointments

hungarian citizens view on democracy

38% thought it became less democratic since orban, 33% said more democratic

ontological

dealing with the nature of being

culture

a class of things and events, dependent upon symbolling, considered in an extrasomatic context (leslie white)

positivism

imposed on the mind by experience

xi jinping thought

2017 to make china a ‘great modern socialist power’, blends socialism, nationalism and strong party control

primary vs secondary rules

primary is governing behaviour, secondary is enforcement, recognition, change of such rules

little pink

group of young chinese nationalists on chinese social media, X, and instagram who criticse people who publish negative views/news about china

state of palestine

recognised by over 150 of 193 UN member states

zionism

a nationalist movement that aimed to establish a jewish homeland in palestine

sudanese civil war

broke out in 2023 between RSF and SAF (military power struggle), US has suggested the RSF is committing a genocide

2 main worldviews in the US

1. individualist hierarchical

2. egalitarian communitarian

sukumo population decline

fell from 26000 to 19000 since 2000

remnants of colonialism in AI

of 350 renditions, in 22 doctors were white and they all showed the children as black despite the prompt being ‘black african doctors providing care for white suffering children’

right wing populist parties in 2024 european parliament elections

38.8% of the vote

far right parties

• morality unity honour in bulgaria

• revival in bulgaria

• advance UK

• restore britain

• TRUMP in belgium

• sanseito DIY japan

• national rally france

• AFD germany

• vox spain

• pvv netherlands

• brothers of italy

morality unity honour party bulgaria

‘bulgaria first’, 4% of vote in 2024 election

revival party bulgaria

13% of vote in 2024 election, wants to unite bulgaria with north macedonia, textbook example of a nationalist-populist party

advance uk

led by ben habib who was former deputy leader of reform, launched in summer 2025, habib spoke at unite the kingdom rally

elon musk affiliation with advance uk

said it would “actually drive change, farage is weak sauce who will do nothing”

restore britain

led by rupert lowe (reform MP but now independent), who said farage was ‘watering down’ policies on immigration

TRUMP party belgium

announced nov 2025, “donald trump is the ultimate symbol of populism. he immediately embodies what we stand for”