A mediated assessment of Samuel Huntington’s ‘Clash of Civilizations’: The cultural framing hypothesis

Abstract

Abstract The current article explores a ‘cultural framing hypothesis’, the notion that the media have attributed significance to Huntington’s ‘Clash of Civilization’ theory, while rendering it salient in the public mind. Media framing theory has been utilized to assess Huntington’s visibility both in elite newspapers, as well as in web search engines. Huntington’s theory, despite its diminishing attention, remains salient almost five years after Huntington’s death, which seems to be affecting its overall visibility. The current article concludes: the media attribute significance to Huntington’s theory, despite its diminishing visibility. There is a co-variation between mainstream media coverage and web searching trends of Huntington’s theory. The diminishing salience of the Clash of Civilizations may indicate a shift towards alternative explanations of global conflicts.