Twenty years after Samuel P. Huntington's provocative essay "The Clash of Civilizations?", the German Society for the Study of Political Thought conducted a critical assessment in 2013. The twelve contributions gathered here systematically examine the theses and implications of Huntington's argument in their historical, philosophical, state-theoretical, cultural, and political dimensions, and they assess perspectives for further debate. Central to this discussion is primarily the issue of interpretations of civilizations themselves and their analytical function for understanding the 21st century.