March 5, 2002
Contact: George Yatchisin
(805) 893-3494
e-mail: yatchisin-g@sa.ucsb.edu

Senator George J. Mitchell and Samuel P. Huntington conduct the forum “The Conflict of Civilizations?” at UCSB Recreation Center, Pavilion Gymnasium

Summary Facts:

• Senator George J. Mitchell and Samuel P. Huntington
• “The Conflict of Civilizations?”
• Part of the Arthur N. Rupe Distinguished Dialogue Series
• George J. Mitchell is the former Senate Majority Leader
• Samuel P. Huntington is the author of The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order
• Saturday, April 13
• 3 pm / UCSB Recreation Center, Pavilion Gymnasium
• All tickets: $5
• Tickets/Information: UCSB Arts & Lectures at 893-3535

“The Conflict of Civilizations?,” a unique and timely debate featuring Senator George J. Mitchell and Samuel P. Huntington, will be presented on Saturday, April 13 at 3 pm in UCSB Recreation Center, Pavilion Gymnasium as part of the Arthur N. Rupe Distinguished Dialogue Series. Senator George J. Mitchell, the former Senate Majority Leader, has chaired peace discussions both in Northern Ireland and the Middle East. Samuel P. Huntington, University Professor at Harvard University, is the Director of the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies and Chairman of the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies in the Center for International Affairs. Benjamin J. Cohen, Professor of Political Science at UCSB, will moderate the discussion. The debate will explore whether conflicts between the world’s major cultures in the post-Cold War era are inevitable, particularly in light of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Senator George J. Mitchell had an illustrious 14-year career in the U.S. Senate, leaving that body in 1995 as the Senate Majority Leader. For six consecutive years Senator Mitchell was voted “the most respected member” of the Senate by a bipartisan group of senior congressional aides. Among his many accomplishments since leaving elective office, Mitchell has twice worked at promoting world peace. Senator Mitchell served as Chairman of the Peace Negotiations in Northern Ireland. Under his leadership the governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom and the political parties of Northern Ireland agreed to an historic accord. Senator Mitchell also served as Chairman of an International Fact-Finding Committee that examined the current crisis between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Samuel P. Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order was published in the fall of 1996 and has been translated into 22 languages. The book has become one of the defining works of recent political theory. Dr. Huntington is the author or editor of over a dozen books and ninety scholarly articles. He has studied, taught and written widely in three principal areas: 1) military politics, strategy and civil-military relations; 2) American and comparative politics; and 3) political development and the politics of less developed countries. During 1977 and 1978 Huntington served at the White House as Coordinator of Security Planning for the National Security Council. In 1970 he founded the influential quarterly journal, Foreign Policy, and remained its co-editor until 1977.

The event’s moderator Benjamin J. Cohen, Louis G. Lancaster Professor of International Political Economy at UCSB, is currently researching the political and economic consequences of cross-border currency competition. His books include Crossing Frontiers: Explorations in International Political Economy (1991) and The Geography of Money (1998).

The Arthur N. Rupe Foundation has made a major grant to establish a series of dialogues that will bring great minds from a variety of fields to UCSB and the Santa Barbara community. The Rupe Distinguished Dialogue Series explores contemporary societal issues of national and international significance through the presentation of eminent figures who hold divergent viewpoints. The Arthur N. Rupe Distinguished Dialogue Series is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures, the College of Letters & Science and the Interdisciplinary Humanities Center. Courtesy of the UCSB Bookstore, books by both participants will be available for purchase and signing.

All tickets are $5. Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased at the door, if available, beginning at 2 pm.

For tickets or more information,
call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535.

Editor: For photos, please call
George Yatchisin at (805) 893-3494.