why was the cold war called a clash of civilizations

Civilizations are defined as “a cultural entity” that is composed of “the highest cultural grouping of people and the broadest level of cultural identity people have short of that which distinguishes humans from other species”. Further these cultural divides will be globally inclusive and not solely based on cultural differences between western civilizations.

Huntington’s main thesis rests on the assumption that future conflicts will be between civilizations rather than focused on a specific ideology (e.g. As we move forward with discussion and debate on how to situate the United States Military for future potential conflict a key question going unanswered is whether or not the frameworks proposed after the last shift in foreign policy environment are still valid namely is “The Clash of Civilizations” still a driving force in current and future operational environments? A classic framework proposed shortly after the end of the Cold War was Samuel Huntington’s’ “The Clash of Civilizations”. Yet even this key document must rest on some form of theoretical framework in order to understand both the problem and potential solutions in describing future operational environments.

To answer that question the President of the United States develops the National Security Strategy as a vision of America’s role in foreign policy, the latest of which due sometime this summer wherein the President will articulate “The new Strategy will update the vision I provided in 2010 and describe my Administration's national security priorities for the remainder of my term”. If we don’t, no one else will”, have led to great debate on what the Department of Defense must do in order to prepare for future conflict in the face of shrinking resources. Recent events from congressional battles over defense spending, the size of a reduced future defense force and remarks by President Obama to the United States Military class of 2014 that “America must always lead on the world stage. Huntington’s “The Clash of Civilizations?”: Is the Clash Still Driving Conflict?

Why was the cold war called a clash of civilizations