The dialogue of cultures and civilizations in the EU's neighbourhood policy

Abstract

This study attempts to explore the importance of culture in world politics, and how cultural diversity and the 'threat' posed by it is dealt with by the European Neighbourhood Policy through Dialogue. It shall first analyse the two most important post-cold war theories of the emerging international system, namely Francis Fukuyama's The End of History and Samuel P. Huntington's Clash of Civilizations. It shall first discuss the theories, outlining their main points and discussing any apparent defects and shortcomings. At the end of each analysis we shall briefly look at the criticisms which have been put forward. This makes up the first part of the study. The second part of the study shall take a look at the dialogue of cultures, in an attempt to understand what it aims at and how it seeks to attain its goals. What does dialogue offer, and how does this compare with what has been discussed so far? A description of the European Neighbourhood Policy shall follow. The final part summarizes what has been learnt throughout the essay in order to arrive at an answer to the question of how the European Neighbourhood Policy deals with the 'threat' of cultural diversity, and what the scope of Dialogue really is.