CFP: The Coming Clash of Civilizations: China versus the West?

The grand ascendance of China and the onset of an Asian-centered world order will undoubtedly be one of the great dramas of the twenty-first century. China's extraordinary economic growth and active diplomacy are already transforming East Asia, and future decades will see even greater increases in Chinese power and influence. But exactly how this drama will play out is an open question.

Suggested topics for paper presentations

- Will the Western-oriented world order come to be replaced by one increasingly dominated by China? What can the United States do to maintain its position as China rises? How likely is a war with Taiwan? What role will the “Chinese overseas population” play in the clash of civilizations? Has China any plans for world domination? Or is China a fragile communist regime desperate to survive in a society turned upside down by miraculous economic growth and a stunning new openness to the greater world?

- China’s New Model of Development in Africa versus the West’s “failed” Aid projects. Environmental fall-out of rapid Chinese industrialization. How do the Chinese handle their ethnic minorities? Japanese and Korean reactions to the rise of China. What about the rise of India and Brazil? Was Huntington’s thesis on the “clash of civilizations” correct, after all?

Other themes are welcomed

- The “Arab Spring”. Neo-Conservatism and the creation of a global democratic order. The West: a shared tradition of ideas and values? Immigration and the resurgence of ethnic nationalism in Europe. An Anglosphere Future? Mexifornia and America’s National Identity. The role of Hindu, Hispanic, Russian, or Islamic Civilizations in a global age.

- Scholarly presentations in civilizational theory, comparative civilization studies, philosophy of history, world history, futurology, and other related fields.

Suggested formats for presentations

- Research papers, round-table proposals, position papers, and book review presentations are welcomed. Papers and abstracts will be published in the refereed Proceedings of the Society, and selected papers in the journal Comparative Civilizations Reviews.

Submission Deadline: April 15, 2012
Email abstracts to: Ricardo Duchesne, [email protected]