The Trans-Civilizational Perspective: A Cognitive Framework for Viewing the 21^st Century World

I. From a state-centric and west-centric international society to a multi-polar and multi-civilizational global society

1. The state-centric and west-centric international society of the 20^th century.

2. Conflicts destabilizing the international order.

• The conflict between the transnationalization of economics and information, and the sovereign states system.

• The conflict between the global quest for human dignity and the sense of humiliation shared by developing nations.

• Emerging discrepancies between asian economic power and western intellectual/informational hegemony in global society.

II. The trans-civilizational perspective as compared with the international and transnational perspectives

1. The international perspective.

2. The transnational perspective.

• Significance of the transnational perspective.

• Problems with the international and transnational perspectives.

3. The trans-civilizational perspective.

• Civilizational factors and perspectives as preserved and utilized within the sovereign states system.

• Decline of the non-intervention principle and the problematization of civilizations.

• The need to minimize conflicts between egocentric, unilateral universalisms.

• The functional trans-civilizational perspective.