Research on the “Civilizational Fracture Zone” along the Eurasian Continental Silk Road——Also on the Duality of “Clash of Civilizations” – 欧亚陆上丝绸之路沿线的“文明断裂带”研究——兼论“文明冲突论”的双重性

The diversity of human civilizations determines the existence of connection zones or “fault zones” between areas covered by different civilizations. Such fault zones exist in the three regions of Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Balkans that the Eurasian Continental Silk Road traverses. Various civilizations collide in the fault zone, causing some frictions and disputes, but from the long-term development of thousands of years of history, the fault zone is the area where civilizations meet and merge. Various civilizations, ethnic groups and religions, through dialogue and friendly exchanges, coexisted harmoniously and gradually merged along the Silk Road, forming a series of multi-ethnic and multi-religious countries and communities of interest in Europe and Asia today. The civilizational fault lines across the Eurasian continent and some conflicts along this fault zone after the Cold War are one of the important foundations of the “Clash of Civilizations Theory.” However, although the overall process of human historical development is affected by civilizational factors, especially religious, ethnic and cultural differences, violent conflicts are often the work of a small group of extremists and terrorists, and cannot represent the masses of people with different civilizational backgrounds. Moreover, most of these conflicts stem from external force intervention and internal deep-seated political and economic contradictions. Therefore, there is no pure “clash of civilizations” or conflicts caused entirely by civilizations. Although there are gaps and fallacies in the “Clash of Civilizations Theory,” it also points out that the differences and collisions between different religions, ethnic groups and cultures will play an important role in the development of world history, and reminds us to pay attention to and study the factors of civilization. This is the duality of the “Clash of Civilizations Theory.”