Huntington argued that there are 7 major civilizations - Western, Orthodox, Islamic, Sinic, Hindu, Japanese and Latin American/African - and that conflicts will emerge along the dividing lines of these civilizations, especially between the Western and Islamic worlds. However, critics argue that Huntington's theory oversimplifies conflicts and ignores other important factors like economic and political interests, as well as differences in views on issues like individualism, gender equality and sexuality between societies.

1. Unit 3, topic 5 (Religion in a global context): Religion and the ‘clash of civilisations’ p46-47
Recent conflicts and the context:
Huntington’s idea of 7 civilisations: the ‘progress against barbarism’
Criticisms: SEX: the real clash of civilisations? Self-expression values