Is Europe at risk of a clash of civilisations?
Absolutely not. Europe is strong enough to allow people with different ways of life, different religions and different cultures to live together in an ordered society, provided everyone agrees to abide by basic rules. The basic rules are respect for other people’s cultures. I can see the risk of a clash, but there’s an increasingly large proportion of people who don’t want that. I find the idea of a dominant culture fraught with risk, because instead of operating under the principle of respecting others’ cultures I think it’s possible that radicals could win more influence, and that would put at risk our European culture of respecting other cultures. Should democratisation of the Balkans, or in Turkey, be subordinated to the concerns of the European public, however legitimate they may be? First, the democratic and civil development of Turkey is an important contribution to cultural understanding in Europe and its neighbourhood. An Islamic country that could anchor Europe’s democratic v
