Global Futures Initiative

This week we focused on cultural and religious fault lines and the ways in which they link development issues to wider geopolitical controversies of our day. Looking to "root causes" of conflict is vital in building sustainable and equitable development strategies, especially in fragile states. So, how far are these "root causes" linked to culture and religion? The idea that the world is confronting a “clash of civilizations” (most famously advanced in 1993 by Samuel Huntington) may be the most influential concept in contemporary international relations: an idea reviled and lambasted by some, implicitly or explicitly embraced by others. Even 22 years later, questions about the paradigm Huntington advanced permeate much discussion of current world events. A seminar at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs on April 10-11 on "Clash of Civilizations 2.0" explored these issues, and several participants joined the blogger team in commenting.

This week saw the fourth and final lecture by senior World Bank officials at Georgetown this semester. Chief Economist Kaushik Basu pursued his earlier reflections on the intellectual challenges that lie ahead for development institutions and practitioners. He focused on forces for change outside purely economic factors, including "mindsets" and law and governance. The challenge we put to our bloggers was to reflect on the new elements that need to be taken into account when reflecting on non-economic dimensions of development thinking and practice.