The Idea
This idea holds that global hegemony in the contemporary phase is centered on the United States after 1990, with a weaker and less influential European presence. Within this framework, identity-based fundamentalist discourses are not read as isolated phenomena, but as responses within a new global order that redistributed influence and gave rise to forms of tension and rejection.
Concise Formulation
Path of global hegemony: centers on: the United States after 1990
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This idea lies at the heart of the book’s explanation of the present phase, because it links the rise of fundamentalisms to transformations in the international order rather than merely to internal developments within Muslim societies. Global hegemony thus becomes part of a broader explanation that connects international politics to the formation of cultural and religious reactions, instead of confining the issue to the local sphere.
Why It Matters
This idea helps situate Arkoun within a broader political and historical horizon. The reader sees that his critique is inseparable from a reading of the balance of power in the world. It also shows that understanding fundamentalisms requires attention to the global context that feeds them or pushes them toward rigidity, rather than condemning them in isolation.
Brief Evidence
The text links the trajectory of global hegemony to the United States after 1990, with a weaker and less influential European presence. Within this framework, fundamentalist identity discourses do not appear as isolated phenomena, but as responses within a new world that redistributed influence. This shift gave rise to forms of tension and rejection.
Reading Questions
- How does linking fundamentalism to global hegemony change the way it is interpreted?
- Why does discussion of the United States remain important for understanding this phase?
Documentation Level
High: the claim appears in a clear passage in the book’s material.