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Towards The Systematic Cross-Civilizational Comparison: How Civilizations Work Case 3: The Chinese Case, Tiantian Wu

Comparative Civilizations Review

Drawing on Liah Greenfeld’s (2024) framework of Systematic Cross-Civilizational Comparison, this study examines Chinese civilization as an enduring and culturally autonomous system shaped by its unique first principles, “the Great Unity”, which integrates Confucian orthodoxy, political legitimacy, and cultural tradition into a coherent worldview. Historically, this framework justified dynastic rule through moral virtue and the Mandate of Heaven, forming a durable model of statecraft that incorporated Taoist, Legalist, and Buddhist influences. Expressed and perpetuated through the Chinese language, these principles have systematically shaped the civilization’s modes of thought, ethics, and emotional patterns. Although the Opium War and subsequent “Century of …

Review:Linklater, Andrew. Violence And Civilization In The Western States-Systems. Cambridge University Press, 2017., Stephen T. Satkiewicz

Comparative Civilizations Review

The late Andrew Linklater (1949-2023) has been considered one of the most influential scholars within the field of International Relations. This was the result of his innovative synthesis into the field, with others, of the historical sociology of Norbert Elias (1897- 1990), work that addressed the long-term figuration processes of societies. This synthesis was enriched with the insights of the English School of International Relations, as devised by Martin Wight (1913-1972) and Hedley Bull (1932-1985), scholars who analyzed the many and differing interlocking networks and connections amongst geopolitical actors on the world stage. These efforts led Linklater to his final …

Extending Norbert Elias: Adjacency And The Dynamics Of Civilizations, Arthur Michelino

Comparative Civilizations Review

Civilizations have rarely been approached as systems of interdependence and strain. Most modern theories have oscillated between cyclical visions of rise and fall and static conceptions of blocs defined by cultural essence. Both perspectives have offered sweeping interpretations, but both also detached civilizations from the environments of pressure and interaction in which they have always existed. To reframe civilizations as relational processes requires both recognition of their internal dynamics and attention to the external conditions that compel their transformation.

Book Review: Max Weber's Sociology Of Civilizations: A Reconstruction, Stephen T. Satkiewicz

Comparative Civilizations Review

Max Weber (1864-1920) remains one of the most seminal figures in the social sciences, and his influence continues well over a century since his death. His explanation for the connections between the rise of capitalism and the Protestant Reformation still remains his most famous and most highly debated thesis. In spite of his prominence in the social sciences, Weber’s status within the civilizational field can be more ambiguous. He is not seen as a foundational figure at least when compared to others such as Pitirim Sorokin, Arnold J. Toynbee, or Oswald Spengler. That is not to say Weber is never …

Full Issue

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Editor’S Note: Want To Help Develop A Textbook On Comparative Civilizations?, Joseph Drew

Comparative Civilizations Review

Is anyone here in the United States or elsewhere teaching a course in the comparative study of civilizations at the undergraduate level these days?

Since I was thinking about organizing the writing of a textbook on the topic, I began recently by considering what the major areas were to be covered in such a book. What, I wondered, have been the significant approaches scholars have taken over the past century or so to address the fluid, debatable, tenuous meanings and shapes of civilizations?

Christopher Dawson And The Challenges Of Interdisciplinary Studies, Joseph T. Stuart

Comparative Civilizations Review

The following interview was conducted by Ms. Bibi Pelic, the Director of Communications for the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations. The recording is available on the ISCSC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so-hS2SdoZc

Here, There, And In-Between: On The Civilizing Process And Civilizational Analysis, Michael Palencia-Roth

Comparative Civilizations Review

This essay presents a cautionary tale about certain problems with systematization and abstraction in comparative civilizational studies. It advocates instead for the analysis of single works, limited events, or particular figures, within larger issues pertaining to what is understood as a “civilization” or “culture”. It prioritizes certain aspects of the civilizing process: the here, or the civilizing and interpretive gaze; the there, or the Other that is the object of that gaze; and the in-between. It further suggests that insights and methods from Mikhail Bakhtin, Hans-Georg Gadamer and others from the humanities, social sciences, and philosophy can …

The Applicability Of Lessons From American Society For The European Union: Tolerance, Demographic Change, And Social Structure, Joseph Drew

Comparative Civilizations Review

While Americans have long tended to see our society and civilization as exceptional, in fact the civilization is primarily based on European precedent. We see ourselves, in the words of one of our most significant poets, Emma Lazarus, as the new colossus, “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp cries she... I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” We claim to be an exception; that means that we are unique, different, what many, alluding to the New Testament as viewed by the Pilgrim founding fathers, have called “a shining city upon a hill.”2 And as “a beacon of hope.”

The Economic Regions Of Chinese Civilization: A Gis-Based Analysis Of Grain Markets In China, 1736-1842, Karl Ryavec, Mark Henderson, Rocco Bowman

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

The Russian Sphinx: Contemplating Danilevsky’S Enigmatic Magnum Opus Russia And Europe, Vlad Alalykin-Izvekov

Comparative Civilizations Review

The relations between Russia and the West have never been particularly easygoing or unambiguous, and, presently, they are yet again at an all-time low. The way to better understand, as well as to successfully communicate and cooperate with another society is through learning about evolution (and revolutions) of their (as well as one’s own) history and culture. Are there any important sources in the Russian cultural heritage that could illuminate these ages-old problems, tendencies, and trends? The year 2021 marks 150 years since publication of Nikolay Danilevsky's book Russia and Europe (1871), while the next one, the year 2022, denotes …

Indices Of The Comparative Civilizations Review, No. 1-83

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Ross R. Maxwell: An Autobiography, Ross R. Maxwell

Comparative Civilizations Review

Sometimes the most significant event is something that did not happen. I did not go to nursery school or to kindergarten, and I now suspect that this helped me keep my curiosity and imagination unfettered. Either something interested me, or it did not. In school, from first grade to graduate school, I never asked for help. I would listen to others only if what they had to say interested me — if not, I would tune them out.

Full Issue

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Editor's Note, Joseph Drew, Editor-In-Chief

Comparative Civilizations Review

It has always seemed somewhat ironic that the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations has never agreed on the exact definition of the single word arguably most central to its mission: “civilization”.

The Iscsc Celebrates The 130th Birth Anniversary Of Pitirim A. Sorokin, The Founding President, With A Contemporary View Of His Legacy, Andrew S. Targowski

Comparative Civilizations Review

This study analyzes the legacy of Pitirim Sorokin, founding President of the ISCSC, in terms of his methodology, the scope of his works, and his acceptance by his American peers. He was perceived as a prophet rather than a scientist. Furthermore, he was a hidden anti-Leninist who lived through and was obsessed with crises, and, being spiritually cultivated, he perceived altruism, the Absolute, God, love, duty, sacrifice, grace, and justice as the only solutions that can reconstruct and save humanity. His theory of social and cultural dynamics is like Marx’s socioeconomics; however, it was reconfigured to sound different, since he …

Readers: An Invitation To A Continuing Debate, Joseph Drew

Comparative Civilizations Review

The organization was created in 1961, with a conference held at Salzburg, Austria. Scholars gathered there under the auspices of UNESCO for six days in October. Among those present were Pitirim Sorokin and Arnold Toynbee. The topics included the definition of the word “civilization,” problems in the analysis of complex cultures, civilizational encounters in the past, the Orient vs. the Occident, problems of universal history, theories of historiography, and the role of the social sciences and the humanities in globalization.

François Guizot, The History Of Civilization In Europe. Liberty Fund Inc., 2013, Mariana Tepfenhart

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Guide To The Iscsc Archives, Dickinson College

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

The Concept Of A Boundary Between The Latin And The Byzantine Civilizations Of Europe, Piotr Eberhardt

Comparative Civilizations Review

The article reviews, first, the essentials of the literature devoted to the origins and spatial reaches of the particular civilizations. Then, the boundary dividing Europe into two parts is outlined. This boundary runs from the Barents Sea in the north to the Adriatic Sea in the south. On its western side nations are associated with the Latin legacy, while on the eastern side are those that relate to the Byzantine tradition and later on, to Moscow. Views as to the course of this boundary are discussed.

Full Issue, Comparative Civilizations Review

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Editor's Note, Joseph Drew

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Bruce Mazlish & Ralph Buultjens, Eds., Conceptualizing Global History, Vitaliy Sholokhov

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Commentary Traditions And The Evolution Of Premodern Religious And Philosophical Systems: A Cross-Cultural Model, Steve Farmer, John B. Henderson, Peter Robinson

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Comparative Civilizations Review

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Editor's Note, Joseph Drew

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Comparative Civilizations Review

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

The 1961 Conference Of The Iscsc: Notes And Summaries, Michael Palencia-Roth

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

The 1961 Salzburg Conference And Contemporary Reflections Of Its Overarching Themes And Participants, Joseph Drew

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Review Essay: Johann P. Arnason, Civlization In Dispute. Historical Questions And Theoretical Traditions, Toby E. Huff

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.