Region, Security and the Return of History

A decade ago there was talk of the "end of history". Francis Fukuyama assured us that no ideology, even Islamic ideology, could challenge the universalist claims of liberal democracy. Influential analysts spoke of an international convergence of value systems as well as economies. Today some have gone to the other extreme and accept the idea of a "clash of civilizations". At the very least, we can say history has returned with a vengeance.When commentators of a decade ago assumed change was movi