CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS REVISITED: CULTURAL NARRATIVES IN INDIA-CHINA STRATEGIC COMPETITION

Abstract

This article revisits Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations (CoC) theory to examine how cultural and civilizational narratives shape the contemporary strategic rivalry between India and China. While existing analyses largely emphasize military, economic, and geopolitical competition, this study argues that the India - China relationship is also deeply influenced by competing claims to civilizational identity, historical legacy, and regional leadership. Drawing on secondary sources, including political speeches, policy documents, media discourse, and academic literature, the article analyses how both states mobilize civilizational themes to frame national resurgence, territorial claims, and foreign policy orientations. India’s self presentation as a Hindu civilizational state and China’s narrative of national rejuvenation under the “Chinese Dream” reveal parallel attempts to assert cultural authority in Asia. The article finds that although the CoC theory oversimplifies complex interstate dynamics, it offers useful insights into how identity-based discourses reinforce tensions in the India - China relationship. Ultimately, the study concludes that civilizational narratives function as a complementary layer, rather than the primary driver of strategic competition, amplifying mistrust and shaping the symbolic dimension of rivalry in the 21st-century Indo-Pacific.