ABSTRACT

Politics, not geopolitics or culture, may ultimately determine how the September 11 attacks and the American response to it reshape world order in the early 21st century. Many see these events as ushering in a clash of civilizations, or at least a renewed power rivalry among nations. But September 11 may exert its most profound impact on the relationship between states and societies, where a new struggle for legitimacy and authority looms, whether in Muslim or non-Muslim worlds. While September 11 produced some changes in interstate and inter-civilizational relations, they pale in comparison with its roots In, and effects (and potential effects) on, state-society relations. Several signposts of this have emerged.