The Clash of Perceptions offers a novel perspective on and a unique empirical test of one of
the most influential controversial and popular paradigms for explaining international and
intergroup conflict: Samuel P. Huntington's Clash of Civilizations. Huntington argued that
alliances and conflicts in the post-Cold War era are determined primarily by cultural
identification. Although previous research has found little empirical evidence to support this
hypothesis the fear persisted that due to its popularity the Clash of Civilizations could
become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Building on the assumption that (mis)perceptions of
intergroup relations can cause real conflicts Huntington's core hypotheses are tested for the
very first time as a Clash of Perceptions by analyzing empirically the pattern and the
determinants of conflict in intercivilizational intergroup perceptions with global survey data.
The findings suggest that the Clash of Civilizations may exist after all if only in our heads.
