THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 29 JULY 2019 (A dialogue of civilisations (The Hindu))

A dialogue of civilisations (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2 : International
Prelims level : Not much
Mains level : Uprising of a new Cold War

Context

• Is the 21st century going to be marked by a fruitful conversation among civilisations or marred by a frightening conflict of civilisations?
• This is one of the most vigorously debated questions in our times.
• In the closing decade of the last century, Samuel Huntington, a noted American political scientist, put forward the thesis of ‘The Clash of Civilisations’.
• He claimed that the future trend of world politics would be defined by the conflict between Western and non-Western civilisations. His belief: the West’s superior civilisation would triumph in this clash.
• Many in America and Europe lapped up his thesis, since it had appeared soon after the end of the Cold War, which saw the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the U.S. as the sole superpower.
• Since then, numerous public figures around the world have countered Huntington’s theory. Notable among them was Mohammad Khatami, Iran’s President from 1997 to 2005.
• To its abiding credit, the United Nations endorsed his counter-concept and proclaimed 2001 as the “UN Year of Dialogue among Civilisations”.

A new Cold War?

• The U.S. has become a diminished power in the past three decades. Nevertheless, it appears that Huntington’s argument still has backers in the Donald Trump administration.
• One of its high-ranking officials has sought to paint the current U.S.-China trade war on the canvas of a ‘clash of civilisations’.
• Speaking at the 19th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in October 2017, he highlighted the relevance of this debate to the newest, and one of the most pressing, problems facing the entire planetary population: climate change.
• He said the world needs to make a transition from “industrial civilisation” to “ecological civilisation”, and learn to create “harmony between man and nature”, a noble teaching embedded in all the world’s civilisations, cultures and religions.

Dialogue of civilisations

• Over 2,000 participants representing the 48 Asian countries, and also many distinguished personalities from other continents, attended the event.
• In his keynote, Mr. Xi stressed the importance of Asia, a continental “cradle of civilisations” that “covers a third of the earth’s land mass and has two-thirds of the world’s population”.
• Explaining the purpose of the conference, he said, “The world today is moving toward greater multipolarity, economic globalisation and cultural diversity, and is becoming increasingly information-oriented. All this points to promising prospects for the future.
• Meanwhile, instability and uncertainties are mounting and the global challenges faced by humanity are becoming ever more daunting, calling for joint responses from countries around the world.”
• His prescription: “to meet our common challenges and create a better future for all, we look to culture and civilisation to play their role, which is as important as the role played by economy, science and technology.”

Conclusion

• History is witness to how civilisations decline and die when they become exclusivist.
• We need to stay open and inclusive and draw on each other’s strengths.
• All living organisms in the human body must renew themselves through metabolism; otherwise, life would come to an end. The same is true for civilisations.
• Long-term self-isolation will cause a civilisation to decline, while exchanges and mutual learning will sustain its development.”

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar on ‘urbanization and temperature rise’, consider the following statements:
1. The local surface temperature in large cities in Odisha has decreased by as much as 40-50% during the period 2001-2010.
2. The dense vegetation reduced by 89% in the state, crop fields shrunk by 83%.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both
D. None

Answer: B
Mains Questions:
Q.1) China is actively promoting the idea of confluence of civilisations. Why is India so inactive?