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The international growth of anti-Americanism

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Ten years on, it is clear that the Iraq war fueled a sea-change in international opinion toward the United States. These movements in foreign sentiment are the most significant since at least the Vietnam conflict, and hold key present day implications for U.S. policymakers.

Over the course of the past decade, not one but two cross-cutting meta-narratives have been at work in international public opinion.

The first is the international growth of anti-Americanism, driven by Iraq and wider perceptions of excessive U.S. power, unilateralism and over-reliance on military might. This was an especially strong impulse from 2003 to 2008 during the Bush administration.

In the run-up to and aftermath of the Iraq War, favorability toward the United States, which had spiked upward after 9/11, went into freefall in many countries. This and the accompanying rise of anti-Americanism is important because it has undercut U.S. soft power and thereby reduced Washington’s ability to promote its interests overseas, and indeed those of its allies.

History underlines the role soft-power has played in obtaining favorable outcomes for Washington. For example, successive U.S. administrations used soft resources skilfully after World War II to encourage other countries into a system of alliances and institutions, such as NATO, the IMF, World Bank and the U.N. The Cold War was subsequently won by a strategy that combined soft and hard power.

The falloff in international favorability toward the United States since Iraq has now been largely arrested, and in most cases, partially reversed. Yet, significant issues persist.

For instance, in 8 of 13 key states that were surveyed in both 2002 and 2012 by the annual Pew Global Attitudes Project (Britain, Czech Republic, Germany, Jordan, Mexico, Poland, Russia and Turkey), significantly fewer people now think favorably of the United States than they did a decade earlier. This is most clear in the two Muslim-majority countries.

Since 2002, U.S. favorability ratings have halved in NATO ally Turkey from 30% to 15%. The fall in Jordan, another pro-Western state, has been from 25% to 12%.

The election in 2008 of President Barack Obama, who is more personally popular with foreign publics than Bush, produced an immediate increase is favorability toward the United States. However, since Obama took office, there has been a significant decrease in international approval of U.S. policies, with particular concerns including reliance on drone strikes in the campaign against terrorism.

Support in China for U.S. policies has dropped from 57% in 2009 to 27%, according to Pew. In Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Poland, the average reduction is 15 percentage points.

To be sure, significant ups and downs in international favorability toward the United States are not unprecedented. During the Vietnam War, anti-Americanism increased markedly. There was also significant overseas concern about U.S. policy during the early Reagan presidency following increased tensions with the Soviet Union.

While the United States fully recovered from these previous episodes, it remains unclear whether this will happen again. In part, this is because those former rises in anti-Americanism occurred during an era of rigid bipolarity in which U.S. allies regarded the Soviet Union as by far the greater danger and tended to give Washington the benefit of any doubt.

The post-Cold War world is more fluid and uncertain. And, this is where the second cross-cutting meta-narrative, which has assumed special prominence since 2008, is key. Relating to the perceived recent decline of the United States, it reflects widespread international assessments of the country’s record in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the global financial crisis which is commonly perceived to have accelerated the rise of China and the wider East.

Specifically, there has been sizeable growth in international opinion that China will or already has surpassed the United States as the world’s most powerful state. For instance, between 2009 and 2011 alone, there was an at least 10 or more percentage point increase in public support for this proposition in Spain, France, Pakistan, Jordan, Israel, Poland and Germany, according to Pew.

China’s growing prominence has aroused mixed international reactions: in some cases there is considerable anxiety, but elsewhere the perceived shift in the global balance of power is welcomed. Interestingly, numerous Muslim-majority states (where favorability towards the United States is generally low) are among those who tend to regard China’s rise most positively.

In coming years, the interplay between these cross-cutting meta-narratives will be shaped by global events. Even though some international opinion perceives the United States to be in decline, there are continuing concerns about how Washington uses its power. The latter could become especially salient again in the event of U.S. military action against Iran.

Conversely, if the United States does not soon stage a strong economic recovery, as it did following recessions in the early-1980s and early-1990s when concerns about decline were last voiced, this would fuel international anxiety about a global leadership vacuum, especially if China’s rise is perceived to continue unabated.

Whichever way momentum flows, the post-9/11 decade, from Iraq through the global financial crisis, will be remembered as an extraordinary period in terms of international opinion volatility towards the United States. It will take another remarkable event or combination of developments to witness comparable movements of global sentiment in coming years.

© Japan Today

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19 Comments
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As a special advisor to Prime Minister Tony Blair, Andrew Hammond should have a good understanding of this subject, which was closely linked to the growth of anti-Blairism. The reason for the growth of anti-Blairism was his blind support of U.S., in particular George Bush, policy and specifically, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

"However, since Obama took office, there has been a significant decrease in international approval of U.S. policies, with particular concerns including reliance on drone strikes in the campaign against terrorism."

Do the disapproving people in western countries want to send their troops into the Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen backcountry instead?

0 ( +6 / -6 )

It's fairly common sense that any world hegemonic power would be looked upon in disapproval by other states, however approve or disapprove, the world needs the USA to act as an enforcer of last resorts. History has shown what one man in a position of power can achieve or destroy, and I think most people out there don't quite understand how dangerous this world can be.

2 ( +8 / -6 )

paulinusa: I don't want British troops deployed in any third world dump of a country, but I am also against the use of drones.

How would the US react if China sent a drone over the US to assassinate political opponents? There would be outrage. So what do you expect the reaction will be when the US does the same thing in other countries?

Let's leave the bearded buffoons to their dusty, poverty-stricken hellholes. Isolate them and leave them to fight among themselves, but prevent any of them from coming to our countries until they get over their medieval mindset.

3 ( +8 / -5 )

The Iraq War was a disgraceful act which rightly soured a lot of world opinion of the Bush administration. It's arrogance in riding roughshod over the UN, misleading the public about WMDs and criminal lack of thought to what would happen to Iraq after Hussein's removal was, in my view, a war crime for which Bush and Blair should have been in the dock. Yes, it was 10 years ago, but it's foul stench still lingers. People are now looking at US policy in Israel and drone strikes with a mindset which sees the US as a country whose moral integrity has been soiled. It will take a very long time for this perception to change.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

The U.S.A. used to be a dream country.

An immigrant could arrive there, speaking almost no English and, in a few short years and a lot of hard work, have a house, two cars and enough income to put his kids through college without his wife ever having to work.

Most of the U.S.A. was very peaceful. There were patches of crime and lawlessness and the situation for black people in the South was appalling. Yet, by and large it seemed something to aspire towards.

Then it started to get political.

There was a whole slew of dubious activities and wars. Vietnam, the Bay of Pigs, Grenada, Panama, the Persian Gulf, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. And a lot of CIA activity and behind the scenes stuff in South America and the Middle East.

Bush was probably the worst thing that could have happened to the U.S.A. That was when popularity for the country crashed. Bush redefined "thick," and I don't mean that he was overweight. The guy was incapable of putting a sentence together without some kind of grammatical boob. "Don't misunderestimate me," "Families IS our priority," and so on. And his crew were disgusting, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice.

They began the Iraq war with out and out lies. "Hussein has WMDs. We know this and we know where they are. The Al-Quaeda has groups in every city in the world, about to attack!" Well, there were no WMDs and no secret Al-Quaeda cadres anywhere.

There were all kinds of events that we were told were caused by "terrorists," and not allowed to question. Bush even declared war on terror! Not on a country, or a group of people, but on terror!

And as a result, the U.S.A. has Guantanamo, where people who have been suspected of terrorism are incarcerated, without trial and without any indication of how long they will be there, subjected to torture such as sleep deprivation, humiliation and waterboarding.

Under Obama, Pakistan was invaded and someone, whom we are led to believe was Bin Laden was assassinated and the body mysteriously dumped at sea. There was no trial and no body as proof.

With this and much, much more, is anyone surprised that very few people trust this country?

-3 ( +8 / -11 )

There was a whole slew of dubious activities and wars. Vietnam, the Bay of Pigs, Grenada, Panama, the Persian Gulf, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.

Don't forget Korea, Kuwait, and the Balkans.

With this and much, much more, is anyone surprised that very few people trust this country?

Do not trust any country. Every country is out for themselves.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

My own feelings are fuelled mostly by American arrogance more than anything else. They are prepared to be members of the UN, but refuse to allow their soldiers to take orders from the UN or even wear blue berets and helmets.

However, it's more than that, it's the way American culture is spreading across the world, accompanied by American attitudes. The British Empire is now frowned upon for those same reasons, yet the American culture of greed and the "every man for himself" attitude is welcomed by open arms.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

How would the US react if China sent a drone over the US to assassinate political opponents?

With much less outrage than if China sent in troops.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Perhaps it's time to cut off foreign aid.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Countries with the arrogance to play by different rules will always create mistrust and dislike. As was pointed out, had other countries flagrantly disregarded the UN and engaged in an illegal war, the perpetrators would have stood trial. As Desmond Tutu pointed out, had America or Britain's Asian or African counterparts illegally invaded another country, their leaders would have had to face the consequences. America, like most countries, has a history of doing both good and bad but the fact is the bad goes unpunished.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Why condemn the US, the Us is behaving exactly the way a super power is supposed to behave, it will continue doing so until another power emerges as has happened to Great Britain.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Bush took an absolute dream situation where 99% of the world was backing him the day after 9/11, and turned it into one of the biggest debacles in U.S. history by invading Iraq and killing tens of thousands of Iraqis simply because they bought some 5" aluminum tubing. That tubing was his "incontrovertible proof" that Iraq was manufacturing weapons of mass destruction despite the CIA and his foreign allies saying, "Umm, that's not necessarily true." I'm American and to this day I'm still shocked Bush wasn't charged as a war criminal for initiating a needless war against another nation. Supporters like to say, "But we got Hussein out of power." SO WHAT?! WHO SAID THAT WAS OUR JOB?! Are we now the designated "Despot Usurpers"?

We were supposed to be looking for Bin Laden and when our troops had pretty much swept through Afghanistan with no sign of him, this WMD red herring "suddenly appeared" - taking attention away from the fact that our forces had just struck-out in Afghanistan and had handed the Bush Administration a major embarrassment. Back when Clinton was in office and bombed some Al Qaeda training camps, some Republicans (which were picked up and amplified by most of the media) were making a big deal of Clinton possibly using the "Wag the Dog" tactic (from a movie that had just been released of the same name) to draw attention away from his Lewinsky mess. I guess the Republicans felt the Iraq War was their turn at dog-wagging.

I am REALLY getting tired of the rest of the world expecting us to be the world's policemen. We're damned if we do by the forces we act against, and damned if we don't by our supposed "allies". We CAN'T solve all the world's problems - mainly because the world still has too many fricking religions that would like nothing better than to eliminate anyone who doesn't believe like they do. You'll note I'm not singling out any one religion, because a LOT of them have done so over the last century.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Yes, U.S. didn't find WMD in Iraq after Powell went to United Nations. It turn out to be a big lie. I suppose it is not that they hate Americans but they strongly disagree with the American government's foreign policy. I do not think it is fair to blame people for disliking Americans because of their President or their Government policy. However, America is democracy, the government's policy is supposedly reflecting the American people's sentiments. Most of the Americans have strong oppositions or opinions to U.S. middle east and far east policies, which has been the continue problem. How do expect U.S. military keeps spending $700 billion a year to patrol the world? It is not substainable.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Fadamor Mar. 14, 2013 - 05:26AM JST I am REALLY getting tired of the rest of the world expecting us to be the world's policemen. We're damned if we do by the forces we act against, and damned if we don't by our supposed "allies". We CAN'T solve all the world's problems - mainly because the world still has too many fricking religions that would like nothing better than to eliminate anyone who doesn't believe like they do. You'll note I'm not singling out any one religion, because a LOT of them have done so over the last century.

U.S. did by choice. They didn't have to go to invade other countries. Why do you think U.S. went to soverign countries like Iraq or Libya? What did these countries do to have military invasion by U.S. and NATO? I don't know of any good reason to invade soverign countries that have not harmed others. Main reason is that U.S. looked at the opportunity of controlling oil reserve and wanted a leverage for the future. U.S. knows that by the year 2030, China will be importing 80 percent of the oil from the foreign source. Whoever controls the oil and other natural resources will become more important and this is the potential leverage over China and othe countries.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Im about to move to America. Im not American, nor is my husband. But we are pretty damned excited to start a new life where we will have opportunities previously completely closed to us without having to split the family. America has its problems, like any other country. I dont necessarily agree with some of the things the US government has doen voer the years, nor I am sure do many Americans. Hell, Im even less impressed by my own government and dot even get me started on the Japanese one!

But America is welcoming us with open arms. When we got the visas the other week, the consular staff could not have been nicer. I am sure once I get there over time there will be things about the yanks that drive me mental, just as I am sure they will think my sense of humour is totally obscure. But to hate an entire country of people, just for one idiots foreign policy a long time ago. Nah. I love Americans. Its not their fault they have morons leading them. the pickings are generally pretty slim at voting time.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

@bertie

So which country is a utopia for you and without faults?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@sfjp330

Yes, U.S. didn't find WMD in Iraq after Powell went to United Nations. It turn out to be a big lie. I suppose it is not that they hate Americans but they strongly disagree with the American government's foreign policy. I do not think it is fair to blame people for disliking Americans because of their President or their Government policy. However, America is democracy, the government's policy is supposedly reflecting the American people's sentiments. Most of the Americans have strong oppositions or opinions to U.S. middle east and far east policies, which has been the continue problem. How do expect U.S. military keeps spending $700 billion a year to patrol the world? It is not substainable.

Good post, quite fair analysis.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Despite all those thumbs down, I am with Bertie.

And I really despise catch-all phrases like "anti-Americanism". Would that be talking about the government in general, its foreign policy, the people in general, only the rightist, the leftists what?

There is a lot of goodness and greatness about the American people. But I would say that lately their ignorance and arrogance have overshadowed all of it. Still I would not say I have it in for the American people in general...only the pro-war, pro-military ones.

But the government? Yeah, there is where you can say I am clearly anti-American. From this war on terror garbage rapidly increasing the rate of becoming even more of a police state to a foreign policy that bent on making sure America gets all the sweetest plums while hellfire missiles rain down on children in far flung places of the world to kill a guy who is no real threat to America.

What is truly incredible is that America still has any good will left to benefit from.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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