Sociology and political science clearly do not belong to the category of exact sciences. It is difficult to find provisions in them that have the status of immutable truths. The arguments of the most authoritative scientists with such a specialization seem abstract and divorced from the real life of the "little man". But there are theories on the basis of which the foreign and domestic policies of individual states and global international communities are formed. That is why they become relevant.
Samuel Huntington - American writer, sociologist and political scientist - the author of many such theories. His books often contained thoughts that at first seemed too radical, and then turned out to be an objective commentary on what was happening.
Childhood and youth
He was born in New York in the spring of 1927, into a literary family. His father, Richard Thomas Huntington, was a journalist, his mother, Dorothy Sanborn Phillips, was a writer, and his maternal grandfather, John Phillips, was a famous publisher. The choice of a profession related to intellectual activity therefore seems natural. Samuel Phillips Huntington became a worthy successor of family traditions,having written a total of 17 books and over 90 voluminous scientific articles.
Standard for families of this level seem to be the places chosen for Sam's education. First it's Stuyvesant High School in New York, then an undergraduate course at Yale University in New Haven - 1946, then a master's degree in political science at the University of Chicago (1948) and, finally, Harvard, where Samuel Huntington received his PhD and political science in 1951.
Unusual was only that he successfully completed the curriculum of universities in much less time than usual. So, having entered Yale at the age of 16, he graduated not after four years, but after 2.5. A break in his studies was a short-term service in the US Army in 1946, before entering the magistracy.
Professor and consultant
After receiving his degree, he goes to work as a teacher at his alma mater, Harvard. There he worked intermittently for almost half a century - until 2007. Only from 1959 to 1962 did he serve as deputy director of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting at Columbia, another famous American university.
There was a period in his life when he was in close contact with the current high-level politicians. In 1968 he was a foreign policy consultant to presidential candidate Hubert Humphrey, and from 1977 to 1978 Samuel Huntington served inAdministration of President Jimmy Carter as National Security Council Planning Coordinator. Many presidents and secretaries of state listened attentively to his opinion, and Henry Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezinski considered Huntington to be their personal friend.
Prolific Writer
All the time, free from teaching and social activities, he devoted to writing books. They are filled with an analysis of the current foreign and domestic policies of the leading countries of the world and a forecast for the development of both regional and global processes. Originality of thinking, great erudition and high personal qualities earned him authority and respect among his colleagues. An indicator of this was that leading political scientists and sociologists in the United States chose him for the presidency of the American Political Science Association.
In 1979, he founded Foreign Policy magazine, which has become one of the most respected publications in the field of international relations. It remains so today, published every two months, publishing, among other things, the annual "Globalization Index" and "The Ranking of Failed Governments".
The book that created the name
The first book that established Huntington's reputation as an original thinker and thoughtful scholar was The Soldier and the State, published in 1957. Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations. In it, he considered the problem of effective public, civilian control over the armed forces.
Huntington analyzes the moral and social stateofficer corps, he studies the military-historical experience of the past - first worldwide - from the time of the 17th century, then that acquired during armed conflicts in the United States and overseas, where the American Expeditionary Force was sent. The book also reflected the then political situation of the beginning of the Cold War. The conclusion of the scientist: effective control over the army by society should be based on its professionalization, on the comprehensive increase in the status of people who have dedicated their lives to military service.
Like many other publications, this book caused fierce controversy, but soon many of its ideas formed the basis of the ongoing military reforms in the country.
Political Order in Changing Societies (1968)
In this study, an American political scientist conducts a detailed analysis of the socio-political situation that prevailed in the world by the end of the 60s of the XX century. It was characterized, among other things, by the emergence of a whole community of countries, mainly from former colonies that got out of control of the mother countries and chose their own development path against the backdrop of confrontation between global ideological systems led by the USSR and the USA. This situation has given rise to the term "Third World countries".
This book is now considered a classic of comparative politics. And after the release, it was subjected to the most severe criticism from the apologists of the theory of modernization popular at that time among Western political scientists. Huntington in his work buries this theory, showing it as a naive attempt to impose a democratic path on developing countries.development by promoting progressive views.
"The Third Wave: Democratization at the End of the 20th Century" (1991)
Most of the book takes substantiation of the sinusoidal nature of the global process of countries' movement towards democratic forms of state. After an upswing in such a movement (Huntington counted three waves: 1828-1926, 1943-1962, 1974-?), there follows a downturn (1922-1942, 1958-1975).
The concept of the American scientist is based on the following provisions:
- Democratization is a global process with general trends and particular cases.
- Democracy has the character of self-worth, which has no pragmatic goals.
- Various forms of democratic order.
- Democratization does not end at the end of the 20th century, some countries may roll back and the 4th wave will begin in the next century.
Theory of Civilizations
The book "Clash of Civilizations" (1993) made the name of Huntington famous all over the world, causing especially fierce controversy that went beyond the borders of the United States. According to the scientist, in the coming 21st century, the interaction of different cultures or civilizations, formed by a common language and lifestyle, will be decisive for the world order.
In addition to Western civilization, Huntington has eight more such formations: Slavic-Orthodox led by Russia, Japanese, Buddhist, Hindu, Latin American African, Sinic(Chinese) and Islamic civilization. The scientist assigns the role of the main lines of future conflicts to the boundaries of these formations.
Tragedy as an argument in the discussion
Three years later, when he published The Clash of Civilizations and the Rebuilding of the World Order, the writer raised the heat of the discussion around his theory even higher. In the events of the tragic day of September 11, 2001, many, especially Americans, saw additional confirmation of the correctness of the predictions of the famous political scientist, the personification of the confrontation between different civilizations that had begun.
Although many political scientists report a negative attitude to Huntington's theory from the US academic community, there is an opinion that after the terrorist attacks, accompanied by Islamic slogans, swept the world, the "theory of civilizations" was finally adopted by the US ruling circles.
Happy family man
A man who sometimes spoke out on the pages of his books very decisively and knew how to stubbornly and adamantly defend his opinion in public disputes, Samuel Huntington in everyday life was very modest and balanced. He lived for more than half a century with his wife Nancy, raising two sons and four grandchildren.
The last capital work of the scientist was published in 2004. In Who We Are? Challenges to American National Identity, he analyzes the origins and characteristics of this concept and tries to anticipate what challenges American national identity will face in the future.
In 2007, Huntington was forced to end his professorship at Harvardin connection with the deterioration of he alth due to complications due to diabetes mellitus. He worked at his desk until the last day, until he passed away in late December 2008 in the town of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts.
His earthly existence came to an end, but the discussions generated by his books around the world will not subside for a very long time.
