Cultural Conflict in Postmodern Society

Abstract

In the twenty-first century, many factors contribute to the increasing likelihood of cultural conflicts. These factors include the advances in technology and changing economic structures that are bringing more people from different backgrounds into contact as well as the postmodern understanding of identity, which views identity development as the outcome of complex personal choices. In addition, individual and group receptivity and tolerance for change plays a role in many cultural conflicts. However, while these factors can lead to increased conflict, they do not necessarily need to. A postmodern perspective also acknowledges that increased contact among people who are willing to explore and tolerate cultural differences can lead to greater cross-cultural understanding and thus, fewer conflicts. This article examines cultural conflict from a postmodern perspective.

Overview

Cultural conflicts are not new. History is replete with examples of members of one cultural group contacting and then conquering or adapting to another cultural group. But in the last few decades, what may be new is the accelerated pace at which cultures are coming into contact and intermingling. This is due in part to advances in technology and in part to economic forces that are creating an increasingly interdependent world. Also new is a postmodern realization that what we define as culture and how we define ourselves is often the product of a complex series of choices, many of which have political and social impacts that can increase or decrease the likelihood of cultural conflict. The result of these combined forces is that social changes are occurring at a rapid pace. Some of these changes are spurred by cultural conflicts and some produce new conflicts.

Change & Identity — Roots of Conflict. Two central concepts underlying many cultural conflicts in the world are change and identity. How much change is acceptable to an individual, group of individuals, or even a nation of individuals? And what choices will individuals, groups, and nations make in the process of defining and redefining their identities to respond to social realities? To get a better sense of how these factors influence cultural conflicts, examples are useful.

Consider the case of Tepoztlán, a small village in central Mexico. In the mid-1990s, local people were appalled to find that the government had plans to approve the development of communal, private, and state-owned lands into a $500 million luxury golf course and country club. The people resisted. In this case, the Tepoztlán citizens felt that the development would threaten traditional ways of life in the community. In a months-long dispute, the villagers created a campaign that highlighted the communal and land-based customs of their people. Their campaign pitted the culture of a global economic system that favors profit-making against a local culture that values communal living, mutual obligation, and a sense of shared identity. The campaign led to a political standoff that was broken only when state police shot and killed one activist and injured several others. These acts eventually led to a backlash that forced the government to give up plans for the development (Stolle-McAllister, 2007).

The cultural conflict in this example entails both core concepts of change and identity. For the people of Tepoztlán, the possibility of change brought on by world economic forces that might have seemed out of their control spurred action that involved closely defining identity. In this case, the people became involved in a deep discussion about what their cultural values and community identity should be within a modern world. This discussion led them to take action to reject the development and that action led them to strengthen their community identity.

For some, this example might not seem like an example of cultural conflict because the conflict occurs, technically, within one culture—Mexican. However, culture is defined broadly as a way of life of a group of people and the political boundaries that create a national identity are not the only source of cultural identity. In fact, political scientists argue that globalization has weakened the nation-state as a source of cultural identity. Their line of thought is that globalization has made the world smaller because individuals cross national boundaries in search of economic opportunities. This in turn has the effect of weakening people's ties to their home countries and national identities and leaves open the door for other sources of identity, such as a religious identity, to be strengthened (Huntington, 1993; Kivisto, 2002).

Further Insights

Civilizations. In 1993, political scientist Samuel Huntington responded to the myriad of political changes that had occurred in the previous decade, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, by arguing that the conflicts of the future would not be between nation-states but would instead be between civilizations. He argued that civilizations, which are considered to be the highest level of social grouping of a people, share basic ideas about the relationship between individuals in, and to, society and about how to organize the world. Because civilizations view the world so differently, do not change these views readily, and have been in conflict in the past, Huntington said that in light of modern economic, political, and social processes, they were likely to provide the basis for future conflicts.

Whether Huntington's predictions have or will come true is still up for debate. However, one element of civilization which has been a basis for recent world conflicts (conflicts that some have equated to a clash between civilizations) is religion. Religious conflicts come in many forms. For instance, a significant form of dispute occurs between groups of people who have different religions. In the Middle East, the Arab-Israeli conflict is a long-standing example of this kind of dispute that has had serious political impacts around the world. In the Arab-Israeli conflict, two peoples, divided by two distinct religions (Islam and Judaism), vie for the same parcels of land because their respective religious histories tell them that the land is theirs. This cultural conflict has impacts well beyond the borders of any one country, since other countries have tended to favor one side or the other in the conflict based on religious affiliation; thus, a clash of civilizations (Waxman, 2008).

Religious Conflicts. Another form of religious conflict occurs when religion becomes pitted against modern or secular society. This can be seen in the rise of fundamentalist religious movements, which have occurred in most major religions and which tend to reject modern views on issues such as the structure of authority in society. Fundamentalist movements tend to view modern society as degrading religion and urge followers to read religious texts literally in order to reject modern interpretations that they believe are distorted (Khondker, 2006).

Conflicts between religious and secular society can also be seen when members of religious or ethnic groups advocate for their right to display their religious affiliation in secular environments. This has occurred more frequently in Europe and the United States as a result of increasing immigration by non-Christian individuals. In France, when three North African Muslim women chose to wear their hijab, a traditional religious head scarf, to school, they sparked an intense national debate regarding the rights of ethnic minorities living in a modern secular society. On the one hand was the French school, which said that to be French and to attend a French school meant to be part of a secular society. Therefore, religious garb must not be displayed. On the other hand, the girls and their families claimed that denying the girls' religious identity was intolerant and instead of being secular, actually favored other religions that did not require wearing special clothing (Singh, 1999).

All of these religious/cultural conflicts, like the first example in this article, involve questions of identity. With what religious group do individuals identify and what does it mean to act as a member of that particular religious group? Whether it be an entire nation of individuals, as in the Arab-Israeli conflict, where the Jewish people have long debated what it means to be a Jewish state, or whether it be individuals deciding to claim their religious identity when they attend a secular school, each conflict represents a situation where an identity must be claimed and then conflicts arising from that claim must be negotiated. These conflicts also involve elements of change where individuals must decide how many of their traditional religious beliefs and behaviors they wish to change or adapt in light of modern, secular ideas.

Technology & Change. Change is often the primary factor underlying cultural conflicts that arise from new technologies. Technological advances have provided many beneficial changes to communities around the world. Cell phones allow people in the remotest villages to contact loved ones across the world, vaccines help to ward off deadly diseases, and the Internet keeps many people informed of world events. However, some technologies, while seemingly beneficial, also pose challenges when introduced to societies that are based on a culture different from the one that created the technology.

For example, in Sri Lanka, officials struggled to determine a culturally relevant regulatory response to advanced reproductive technologies. On the beneficial side, the introduction of in vitro fertilization, gamete and embryo storage, and genetic counseling meant that more people could enjoy access to technology that would help them to become parents, something highly valued in this country. On the negative side, the technology raised several ethical issues and cultural concerns. Doctors first questioned the appropriateness of spending money on reproductive technologies when more basic needs were not being met. In a country where Buddhism is the predominant religion, many expressed concern that the technology was interfering with the laws of nature and raised fears that the technology would increase abortions as parents sought to eliminate deformed fetuses. And the implementation of the technology highlighted differences in how Sri Lankans and Westerners view relations between individuals. Whereas in Western countries, donors in insemination programs are typically kept anonymous, in Sri Lanka, many families requested to use sperm from relatives, reflecting the fact that polyandry was once practiced in the country. Furthermore, kinship relations are construed differently in Sri Lanka, often allowing marriage between certain types of cousins as a way to preserve family bonds and wealth, something that is discouraged in Western societies (Simpson, 2004). The result of the changes that were introduced by one culture into another through the spread of advanced technologies is a kind of cultural conflict that required local leaders to determine policies that would take into account local views and perceptions while using the technology in the most effective and efficient manner possible.

While conflicts such as those above can occur when any culture introduces an aspect of itself to another, around the world in the twenty-first century, American culture is often the culture that is exported and imported. A concern that arises from this reality is that American ideas, ideology, and ways of life may displace or damage local cultures and identities. Thus, cultural conflicts between the United States and other countries frequently arise and result in policies that are meant to protect countries from perceived American hegemony, or encroachment. For instance, when European countries feared that the entertainment trade was unbalanced, (i.e., the American film and television's dominance of the market threatened to overwhelm traditional ways of life with American pop culture) the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) produced the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity. This document was meant to highlight that entertainment products are not only commodities but are also symbols of national identity and thus should be treated as such (Feigenbaum, 2007).

Issues

Reducing Cultural Conflict. Cultural conflicts exist at all levels of society, between individuals, groups, and nations. The visible effects of cultural conflicts can be quite serious when people or nations go to war because of perceived irreconcilable differences that are based on cultural factors (e.g., Islamists declaring jihad against the West). Cultural conflicts are also frequently exacerbated by politicians who use underlying cultural differences to campaign against cultural norms that are different from their targeted constituents. For instance, Karst (2003) argues that politicians have used the fear that children will not be socialized correctly (i.e., with behavior outside of that accepted by a particular cultural group) to campaign against gay and transracial adoption and to push for laws that incorporate a certain set of values.

With the risk that the consequences of cultural conflict can be severe, many in the global community have focused on finding ways to build more tolerant and multicultural societies. Studies on intercultural communication and dialogue emphasize that participants in an intercultural exchange must be open-minded, willing to ask questions and able to tolerate new points of view as well as criticism (Singh, 2001). Abdallah-Pretceille (2006) writes that moving beyond cultural differences and embracing the processes and interactions that individuals share is an important element of intercultural reasoning. And Zander (2007) highlights three elements of cultural competence which can improve intercultural communication:

• Cultural awareness,
• Cultural knowledge, and
• Cultural skills.

Cultural awareness involves becoming knowledgeable about one's own cultural characteristics, values and practices in order to better understand the culture of others. Cultural knowledge involves learning as much as possible about individuals within another culture and how they differ or coincide with expectations for that culture. Cultural skills are the skills one uses to effectively communicate with those from a different background.

While the challenges of bridging cultural differences and finding the right balance between individual and group rights can be many, political scientists have argued that modern societies are distinguished by their ability to incorporate many new individuals, structures, and ideas into their frameworks (Kivisto, 2002). A postmodern society is different from a modern society in this regard only in that individuals may have a greater degree of choice as to how they fit into their chosen communities. For instance, citizens in a globalized world may be more mobile, and thus, may be in the historically unique situation of being able to live in one country while holding citizenship in another; able to claim cultural affiliation with at least two, and possibly more, groups (Kivisto, 2002). While the result of such transnationalism holds the possibility of creating more opportunities for cultural conflict, it also holds the possibility of creating more opportunities for cross-cultural dialogue and improved cultural understanding, a positive result that could lead to fewer cultural conflicts.

The Postmodern Perspective. This article has examined cultural conflicts from a postmodern perspective. This perspective views the increased likelihood of cultural conflict to be a product of several factors. These factors include the advances in technology and changing economic structures which are bringing more people from different backgrounds into contact as well as the postmodern understanding of identity which views identity development as the outcome of complex personal choices. In addition, individual and group receptivity and tolerance for change plays a role in many cultural conflicts. However, while these factors can lead to increased conflict, they do not necessarily need to. A postmodern perspective also acknowledges that increased contact among people who are willing to explore and tolerate cultural differences can lead to greater cross-cultural understanding and thus, fewer conflicts.

Terms & Concepts

Civilizations: Civilizations are said to be the broadest social grouping of a people and encompass commonalities in history, religion, language, and ways of organizing the world.

Cultural Competence: Cultural competence is a term used to describe one's ability to interact effectively with individuals from a different culture.

Culture: Culture is broadly defined as a way of life of a particular group of people.

Globalization: Globalization is broadly defined as a set of economic, political, and social processes that have intensified relations among peoples in the past few decades.

Hegemony: Hegemony occurs when one people, group, nation, or class dominates another.

Intercultural Communication: Intercultural communication is a field that focuses on studying how individuals within different communities can improve their communication processes to better understand one another.

Multicultural Societies: Multicultural societies are societies that have individuals from many different backgrounds living within them.

Nation-State: A nation-state is a political entity that until recently was predominantly inhabited by individuals sharing a common culture (i.e., history, language, traditions, etc.).

Secular Society: Any part of society that is not associated with religion is considered to be part of secular society. Most governments in Western culture are considered to be secular because they attempt to keep religion and government separate.

Transnationalism: Transnationalism is a term to describe how migrants define their identities by both their country of residence and their country of origin.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): UNESCO is an arm of the United Nations that specifically deals with promoting international cooperation and agreements in the areas of education, science, culture and communication.

Bibliography

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Huntington, S. P. (2003). The clash of civilizations? In J. F. Hoge & Council on Foreign Relations, America and the world: Debating the new shape of international politics. New York: W.W. Norton.

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Suggested Reading

Fitzduff, M., & Stout, C. E. (Eds.). (2006). The psychology of resolving global conflicts: From war to peace. Westport, CT: Praeger Security International.

Galeotti, A. E. (2017). Cultural conflicts: A deflationary approach. Critical Review of International Social & Political Philosophy, 20(5), 537–555. doi:10.1080/13698230.2017.1328088. Retrieved February 27, 2018 from EBSCO online database Sociology Source Ultimate. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sxi&AN=124023385&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Mouritsen, P., & Jorgensen, K. E. (Eds.). (2008). Constituting communities: Political solutions to cultural conflict. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Raschke, C., & Hale, D. (Eds.). (1995). In God we trust? Cultural conflict and consensus in post 9/11 America. Silverton, CO: Aspen Academic Press.

Wieviorka, M. (2013). Social conflict. Current Sociology, 61(5/6), 696-713. Retrieved November 11, 2013 from EBSCO online database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=89803087