Harvard political science professor Samuel P. Huntington (born 4/18/1927, died on Christmas eve, 2008).

Perhaps the most important political thinker of post-World War II, Huntington rejected the economic reductionism of both capitalism and Marxism, suggesting that cultural, religious and ethnic factors drive world conflicts. He coined the term "the bloody borders of Islam". If you look at his map at the beginning of "Clash of Civilizations", it's remarkable how that single graphic of the world's nine tribes speaks volumes about who fights whom.

His ideas have been associated with war-mongering neo-conservatives, but anyone who has read his books knows otherwise. How else would one explain this quote:

"The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion, but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do."

A remarkable and under-appreciated mind, that Professor Huntington. .


Huntington's clash | The Economist