Fascism and communism have not entirely disappeared but have been sidelined certainly, and liberal democracy has come to be accepted, in theory at least, around the world, if not always in practice.

America doesn't border on Muslim countries. European countries do and that seems to be a fundamental difference.

Obviously there are divisions within the West and divisions within Islam - there are different sects, different communities, different countries. So neither one is homogenous at all. But they do have things in common.

Except under rare circumstances, I don't write responses to criticism.

In the coming decades, questions of identity, meaning cultural heritage, language, and religion will play a central role in politics.

Many more people in the world are concerned about sports than human rights.

The question really is what will be the central focus of global politics in the coming decades and my argument is that cultural identities and cultural antagonisms and affiliations will play not the only role but a major role.