Includes bibliographical references and index.

Ch. 1 A world of plural and pluralistic civilizations: multiple actors, traditions and practices / Peter J. Katzenstein -- Ch. 2. The United States as a civilizational leader / James Kurth -- Ch. 3. Europe as a civilizational community of practice / Emanuel Adler -- Ch. 4. Civilization and state formation in the shadow of China / David C. Kang -- Ch. 5. The samurai ride to Hungtington's rescue: Japan ponders its global and regional roles / David Leheny -- Ch. 6. Four variants of Indian civilization / Susanne Hoeber Rudolph -- Ch. 7. Islam in Afro-Eurasia : a bridge civilization / Bruce B. Lawrence -- Ch. 8. How to think about civilizations / Patrick Thaddeus Jackson.

Are civilizations really clashing? Have civilizations replaced the nation state as the relevant unit for understanding our multi-polar world? This is a comprehensive, challenging and deeply rewarding tour d'horizon of the big debates in the analysis of civilizations and the use of the concept in making sense of our world.