By Zachary Keck
The 21st century will be defined by nationalism; not religion or culture.
Over at The Guardian, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair opines that this century’s most “epic” battles will be over religion, not political ideology. In his own words: “The battles of this century are less likely to be the product of extreme political ideology – like those of the 20th century – but they could easily be fought around the questions of cultural or religious difference.” For evidence to back up this claim, he points to a number of ongoing conflicts today. The overwhelming majority of these are occurring in the Arab World and Pakistan, although Blair throws in Russia, Central Asia, Burma, Thailand and the Philippines for good measure.
Blair is hardly the first person to make such arguments. 20 years ago last year, Samuel Huntington argued that civilizations, including Islam, would replace political ideologies as the most important force in international politics. Especially since 9/11, many have felt religion is the driving force in world politics today.
But Blair makes a number of errors in reaching his mistaken conclusion that religion and culture will dominate world politics in the 21st century. The first, as noted above, is that his focus tends to be on the greater Middle East. Although a lot can change in 84 years, there’s nothing to suggest that this will be the Middle Eastern Century. As Hillary Clinton put it, “The future of politics will be decided in Asia, not Afghanistan or Iraq.”
Read the full story at The Diplomat