Seyla Benhabib on Cultural Interaction in the Modern Era: Dialogue, Narration, and Transnational Public Sphere Introduction: From "Clash of Civilizations" to "Narrative Interaction" In the era of globalization and increasing migratory flows, the question of cultural interaction is often reduced to simplified dichotomies: assimilation versus multiculturalism, integration versus isolation. Seyla Benhabib, professor of political philosophy and ethics at Yale University, proposes to overcome this impasse by rethinking the very concept of culture and the mechanisms of intercultural dialogue. She rejects the essentialist view that sees cultures as closed, static, and homogeneous wholes (following the model of Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations"). Instead, she suggests seeing cultures as narratively constructed, dynamic, and internally contradictory fields of meaning that are constantly redefined in the process of interpretation and dialogue among their bearers. Critique of Static Multiculturalism and the Concept of "Cultural Narratives" Benhabib criticizes the policy of multiculturalism from the 1970-90s, which, in her opinion, often entrenched an essentialist approach. The state, in its efforts to recognize minorities, endowed them with group rights, but at the same time conducted negotiations with "official representatives" of communities, which: Conserved intragroup hierarchies (often patriarchal). Ignored internal diversity and the voices of dissidents within cultural groups. Prevented intercultural dialogue, creating "parallel societies". In contrast, Benhabib introduces the concept of "cultural narratives". Culture does not exist as a set of frozen dogmas, but as a collection of stories, interpretations, and practices that its members constantly retell, dispute, and reformulate. For example, what it means to be a "Muslim" or "European" today is not a given, but a subject of constant public and private discussion, in which both "traditionalists" and "reformers" par ... Read more