Towards the dignity of difference?: neither "end of history" nor "clash of civilizations"

The rise of popular social movements throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and North America in 2011 challenged two hegemonic discourses of the post-Cold War era: Francis Fukuyama's 'The End of History' and Samuel Huntington's 'The Clash of Civilizations.' The quest for genuine democracy and social justice and the backlash against the neoliberal order is a common theme in the global mass protests in the West and the East.

This is no less than a discursive paradigm shift, a new beginning to the history, a move towards new alternatives to the status quo.

This book is about difference and dialogue; it embraces The Dignity of Difference and promotes dialogue.

However, it also demonstrates the limits of dialogue as a useful and universal approach for resolving conflicts, particularly in cases involving asymmetric and unequal power relations.