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THE PROGRESS OF PLURALISM AND THE TUG OF WAR OF CIVILISATIONS

Year 2002, Volume: 7 Issue: 2, 1 - 17, 01.07.2002

Abstract

The present world order is reflected in the United Nations as the international forum for sovereign states. The UN was founded at the moment of triumph for the Great Powers, which were just winning the greatest war in history. Consequently, it was the self-evident basis for membership of all recognised states. During the Cold War period and the decolonisations, UN membership grew and nations clustered into groups according to their economic and political characteristics: the industrialised countries, the socialist states and the developing countries. When The People’s Republic of China joined, it formed a ‘group’ of its own. After the dissolution of the socialist group, most of its former members tended to join the industrialised group while Russia is likely to follow the Chinese example and form its own ‘group’. Now a tendency is discernible whereby some of the former colonies are being regarded as ‘empires’ in the sense that they comprise entities wishing to establish independent states. There exist no criteria for UN membership status – a small island with a few thousand inhabitants is eligible, a people of millions inside some state or divided as nationals of different states are not. If every state composed of several ethnic or otherwise self-identifying groups divided itself into a number of eligible states, the consequence would be no upper limit for the number of UN members. It has been pointed out that such tribalism and fragmentation, if unchecked, is likely to gain the upper hand in many parts of the world.

References

  • 1 Kenneth Christie (ed.), Ethnic Conflict, Tribal Politics, Richmond, Curzon Press, 1998.
  • 2 Martin van Crefeld, The Rise and Decline of the State, Cambridge University Press, 1999.
  • 3 Basil Davidson, Africa in History, Themes and Outlines, London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1966, ch. 6.
  • 4 Peter Padfield, Maritime Supremacy and the Opening of the Western Mind: Naval Campaigns that Shaped the Modern World 1588-1782, London, Pimlico, 1999; and Jan Glete, Warfare at Sea, 1560-1650, London, Routledge, 1999.
  • 5 Marcia L. Colish, Medieval Foundations of the Western Intellectual Tradition, 400- 1400, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1997.
  • 6 Daniel Philpott, ‘The Religious Roots of Modern International Relations’, World Politics 52, January 2000.
  • 7 Arnold J. Toynbee, A Study of History, London, Oxford University Press, 1954, Vol. VII, VI, pp. 282 and 288
  • 8 Katherine Fischer Drew, The Lombard Laws, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1985, pp. 13-14.
  • 9 It can be added, that a few decades later, King Alfonso X ‘the Learned’ of Castile completed the code Las Siete Partidas, which incorporated elements from the Visigothic codes. Las Partidas was later taken by Spain to the New World, for example, to California and Texas, and the influence of this law is considered still noticeable in US law. See Robert I. Burns, ‘King Alfonso and the Wild West: Medieval Hispanic Law on the U.S. Frontier’, Medieval Encounters, Vol. 6, Nos. 1-3, Leiden, Brill, 2000.
  • 10 Karl Marx, A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, Swedish edition, p. 7.
  • 11 Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy, New York, Simon and Schuster, 1994, p. 172.
  • 12 For an analysis of residual impacts of Ottoman modes on the contemporary Turkish Republic, see Erik Cornell, Turkey in the Twenty-first Century, Richmond, Curzon Press, 2001. (Turkish edition: Türkiye Avrupa’nın Eşiğinde, Istanbul, Cem, 1998.)
  • 13 For a description of North Korean society and ideology, see Erik Cornell, North Korea under Communism: Report of an Envoy to Paradise, London, Routledge Curzon, 2002.
  • 14 Matthew 6:33.
Year 2002, Volume: 7 Issue: 2, 1 - 17, 01.07.2002

Abstract

References

  • 1 Kenneth Christie (ed.), Ethnic Conflict, Tribal Politics, Richmond, Curzon Press, 1998.
  • 2 Martin van Crefeld, The Rise and Decline of the State, Cambridge University Press, 1999.
  • 3 Basil Davidson, Africa in History, Themes and Outlines, London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1966, ch. 6.
  • 4 Peter Padfield, Maritime Supremacy and the Opening of the Western Mind: Naval Campaigns that Shaped the Modern World 1588-1782, London, Pimlico, 1999; and Jan Glete, Warfare at Sea, 1560-1650, London, Routledge, 1999.
  • 5 Marcia L. Colish, Medieval Foundations of the Western Intellectual Tradition, 400- 1400, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1997.
  • 6 Daniel Philpott, ‘The Religious Roots of Modern International Relations’, World Politics 52, January 2000.
  • 7 Arnold J. Toynbee, A Study of History, London, Oxford University Press, 1954, Vol. VII, VI, pp. 282 and 288
  • 8 Katherine Fischer Drew, The Lombard Laws, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1985, pp. 13-14.
  • 9 It can be added, that a few decades later, King Alfonso X ‘the Learned’ of Castile completed the code Las Siete Partidas, which incorporated elements from the Visigothic codes. Las Partidas was later taken by Spain to the New World, for example, to California and Texas, and the influence of this law is considered still noticeable in US law. See Robert I. Burns, ‘King Alfonso and the Wild West: Medieval Hispanic Law on the U.S. Frontier’, Medieval Encounters, Vol. 6, Nos. 1-3, Leiden, Brill, 2000.
  • 10 Karl Marx, A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, Swedish edition, p. 7.
  • 11 Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy, New York, Simon and Schuster, 1994, p. 172.
  • 12 For an analysis of residual impacts of Ottoman modes on the contemporary Turkish Republic, see Erik Cornell, Turkey in the Twenty-first Century, Richmond, Curzon Press, 2001. (Turkish edition: Türkiye Avrupa’nın Eşiğinde, Istanbul, Cem, 1998.)
  • 13 For a description of North Korean society and ideology, see Erik Cornell, North Korea under Communism: Report of an Envoy to Paradise, London, Routledge Curzon, 2002.
  • 14 Matthew 6:33.
There are 14 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Erik Cornell This is me

Publication Date July 1, 2002
Published in Issue Year 2002 Volume: 7 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Cornell, E. (2002). THE PROGRESS OF PLURALISM AND THE TUG OF WAR OF CIVILISATIONS. PERCEPTIONS: Journal of International Affairs, 7(2), 1-17.
AMA Cornell E. THE PROGRESS OF PLURALISM AND THE TUG OF WAR OF CIVILISATIONS. PERCEPTIONS. July 2002;7(2):1-17.
Chicago Cornell, Erik. “THE PROGRESS OF PLURALISM AND THE TUG OF WAR OF CIVILISATIONS”. PERCEPTIONS: Journal of International Affairs 7, no. 2 (July 2002): 1-17.
EndNote Cornell E (July 1, 2002) THE PROGRESS OF PLURALISM AND THE TUG OF WAR OF CIVILISATIONS. PERCEPTIONS: Journal of International Affairs 7 2 1–17.
IEEE E. Cornell, “THE PROGRESS OF PLURALISM AND THE TUG OF WAR OF CIVILISATIONS”, PERCEPTIONS, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 1–17, 2002.
ISNAD Cornell, Erik. “THE PROGRESS OF PLURALISM AND THE TUG OF WAR OF CIVILISATIONS”. PERCEPTIONS: Journal of International Affairs 7/2 (July 2002), 1-17.
JAMA Cornell E. THE PROGRESS OF PLURALISM AND THE TUG OF WAR OF CIVILISATIONS. PERCEPTIONS. 2002;7:1–17.
MLA Cornell, Erik. “THE PROGRESS OF PLURALISM AND THE TUG OF WAR OF CIVILISATIONS”. PERCEPTIONS: Journal of International Affairs, vol. 7, no. 2, 2002, pp. 1-17.
Vancouver Cornell E. THE PROGRESS OF PLURALISM AND THE TUG OF WAR OF CIVILISATIONS. PERCEPTIONS. 2002;7(2):1-17.