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[Cultural internationalism & world order]
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After the firestorm set by Harvard political scientist Samuel P. Huntington's article on 'The Clash of Civilizations,' it is refreshing to read a dispassionate account by a distinguished historian (also from Harvard) on the relationship between culture and international order. Akira Iriye discusses the origins of what he calls 'cultural internationalism' and the tensions that arose in the countervailing forces of nationalism prior to both World Wars. To prevent a resurgence of the militarism of cultural nationalists, which has wrecked such havoc in this century, he makes a compelling argument about the need to tear down cultural walls rather than build them up.