Torn countries differ from cleft countries in whether their people agree on identity

Evidence

In a cleft country major groups from two or more civilizations say, in effect, “We are different peoples and belong in different places.” The forces of repulsion drive them apart and they gravitate toward civilizational magnets in other societies. A torn country, in contrast, has a single predominant culture which places it in one civilization but its leaders want to shift it to another civilization. They say, in effect, “We are one people and belong together in one place but we want to change that place.” Unlike the people of cleft countries, the people of torn countries agree on who they are but disagree on which civilization is properly their civilization. Typically, a significant portion of the leaders embrace a Kemalist strategy and decide their society should reject its non-Western culture and institutions, should join the West, and should both modernize and Westernize. — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 378

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the cleft/torn country distinction, a key framework of the book.
• XREF: Reinforces the earlier cleft country concept; the Kemalist reference connects to the secularization theme in Islamic-state scholarship.