Customer Reviews

Cultural Forces in World Politics

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I was lucky enough to take Dr. Mazrui's course at Binghamton University this semester entitled Cultural Forces in World Politics and it was an eye opener. I had never even considered such things as the significance that the Protetant ethic played in the development of European imperalism during the 17th and 18th centuries. I must confess that I did take a nap once or twice during his lecture and I did not read the entire book, but Dr. Mazrui is a genius. This book should be a must read for anybody who wants to take a broader perspective on the world.

I cannot think of anybody better who can confront the issue of cultures head-on than Africa's most celebrated Political Scientist, Prof. Mazrui. This is a book that each and everyone of us must read, it's a book that will positively change one's perspective of world views. You will never again look at this world the same.

The readers thus far listed have high praise for Dr. Mazrui's book. I too took his class on Cultural Forces at SUNY Bing, but I came away with a far different perception about the man and his ideas. He has done some pioneering work, to be sure, and his "lenses of perceptions" arguments seemed on the surface to have some merit.

But reading mroe of his work after having taken that class as a dopey college sophomore, I see that his views are less scholarship and more polemic. There are other writers who have done much better work, for example, Harrison and Huntington's Culture Matters. Or anything by Kaplan. This one should remain on the library shelf.