A certain category of Asian elites consists of people who are most connected to the West, who were educated at Oxford, the Sorbonne or Harvard, and who have adopted Western values and lifestyles since their youth. The population of these countries, as a rule, retains an indissoluble connection with their native culture and sees the influence of the West as a threat to their identity. This" cultural " conflict between leaders and the electorate inevitably affects the politics of many Asian countries. Nor did Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007), the first woman to serve twice as Prime Minister of Pakistan (1988-1990 and 1993-1996). :Keywords Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan, Islam, dictatorship, democracy, clash of civilizations. Bhutto's national and religious identity was unquestionable - she always recognized herself as a Pakistani and a Muslim. As for cultural identity, Bhutto belonged to "two worlds": she naturally learned the paradigms of her native culture from birth, but thanks to her education and years of living in the United States and Great Britain, she easily navigated the meanings and codes of Western culture. In particular, being a strong supporter of modernization and democracy and using English as the first, "native" language, she could identify with the West at least in ideological and linguistic terms. She wrote about the connection between her Western education and worldview: "Our ideas about life at Harvard and the United States inspired us and radically changed our future. When we returned home as teachers, scientists, or prime ministers, we carried ideas about democratic values and social institutions to our countries" [Bhutto, 2008, p. 273]. A friend of Bhutto's, the well - known British journalist Victoria Schofield, wrote the same thing in her obituary: "As a liberal Western woman who believed in the political process - something she had learned from her time at Harvard and Oxford-she was genuinely convinced that she could make a difference" (Schofield, 2008, ... Read more