Anti Americanism And American Exceptionalism

This book argues against the tendency to see America as the worst or best nation and instead presents a case for seeing anti-Americanism as a counterproductive prejudice. There are many reasons to criticise American policies, politics and even society, but a crucial distinction must be drawn between criticism and prejudice. Charting the development and adaptation of this anti-American tradition, O’Connor maintains that it is important to contextualise it within the particularities of the American experience and the global reach of the United States’ influence and power. He argues for a move away from stereotypes and caricatures towards more specific and profitable discussions about American actions and policies. Offering precise and useful ways of understanding anti-Americanism and American exceptionalism that place the terms in their relevant political contexts, this volume is a useful and engaging resource for those researching or studying American politics and ideology, foreign policy, American culture and international relations.

Is anti-Americanism one of the last respectable prejudices, or are accusations of anti-Americanism a way to silence reasonable criticism of the United States? Is the recent rise in anti-Americanism principally a reaction to President George W. Bush and his administration, or does it reflect a general turn against America and Americans? Have we moved from the American century to the anti-American century, with the United States as the ‘whipping boy’ for a growing range of anxieties? Can the United States recapture the international good will generally extended towards it in the days following 11 September 2001? These key questions are tackled by this new book, which offers the first comprehensive overview of anti-Americanism in the twenty-first century. Examining what is sensibly called anti-Americanism and its principal sources, this study details how the Bush administration has provoked a recent upsurge in anti-Americanism with its stances on a range of issues from the Kyoto Protocol to the war in Iraq. However, the spread of anti-Americanism reflects deeper cultural and political anxieties about Americanization and American global power that will persist beyond the Bush administration. At the heart of much of the recent anti-Americanism is opposition in the Middle East, and elsewhere, to US support of Israel. This crucial issue is explored in depth as is the associated claim of a ‘clash of civilizations’ between Islam and the West and the rise of anti-American terrorism. This book will be of great interest to all students and scholars of American Studies, International Relations and Politics.

"Once you see the deep and diffuse roots of current anti-Americanism, you realize there won't be an easy fix."--The New York Times Book Review The rise of anti-Americanism is the most pressing challenge facing us. In America Against the World, Pew Research Center president Andrew Kohut and Bruce Stokes consider the surprising findings of Pew's unprecedented survey of world opinion to understand why the world has turned against America: where once we were considered the champion of democracy, we are now seen as a militant hyperpower. The answer: Americans' go-it-alone attitudes have pushed the world away. From our business endeavors abroad to the Bush administration's preemptive war policy, exceptional individualism--in particular, our belief in personal responsibility and our unclouded optimism--have encouraged the world to view the United States as a bully and a threat. Former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright argues in her foreword that we cannot stop the spread of anti-Americanism without truly understanding who we are. America Against the World provides the insights to take that step.

'Anti-Americanism' is an unusual expression; although stereotypes and hostility exist toward every nation, we do not hear of 'anti-Italianism' or 'anti-Brazilianism'. Only Americans have elevated such sentiment to the level of a world view, an explanatory factor so significant as to merit a name - an 'ism' - usually reserved for comprehensive ideological systems or ingrained prejudice. This book challenges the scholarly consensus that blames criticism of the United States on foreigners' irrational resistance to democracy and modernity. Tracing 200 years of the concept of anti-Americanism, this book argues that it has constricted political discourse about social reform and US foreign policy, from the War of 1812 and the Mexican War to the Cold War, from Guatemala and Vietnam to Iraq. Research in nine countries in five languages, with attention to diplomacy, culture, migration and the circulation of ideas, shows that the myth of anti-Americanism has often damaged the national interest.

This book reveals how the concept of 'anti-Americanism' has been misused for over 200 years to stifle domestic dissent and dismiss foreign criticism.

Why did Donald Trump follow Barack Obama into the White House? Why is America so polarized? And how does American exceptionalism explain these social changes? In this provocative book, Mugambi Jouet describes why Americans are far more divided than other Westerners over basic issues, including wealth inequality, health care, climate change, evolution, gender roles, abortion, gay rights, sex, gun control, mass incarceration, the death penalty, torture, human rights, and war. Raised in Paris by a French mother and Kenyan father, Jouet then lived in the Bible Belt, Manhattan, and beyond. Drawing inspiration from Alexis de Tocqueville, he wields his multicultural sensibility to parse how the intense polarization of U.S. conservatives and liberals has become a key dimension of American exceptionalism—an idea widely misunderstood as American superiority. While exceptionalism once was a source of strength, it may now spell decline, as unique features of U.S. history, politics, law, culture, religion, and race relations foster grave conflicts. They also shed light on the intriguing ideological evolution of American conservatism, which long predated Trumpism. Anti-intellectualism, conspiracy-mongering, a visceral suspicion of government, and Christian fundamentalism are far more common in America than the rest of the Western world—Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Exceptional America dissects the American soul, in all of its peculiar, clashing, and striking manifestations.

News stories remind us almost daily that anti-American opinion is rampant in every corner of the globe. Journalists, scholars, and politicians alike reinforce the perception that anti-Americanism is an entrenched sentiment in many foreign countries. Political scientist Giacomo Chiozza challenges this conventional wisdom, arguing that foreign public opinion about the U.S. is much more diverse and nuanced than is generally believed. Chiozza examines the character, source, and persistence of foreign attitudes toward the United States. His findings are based on worldwide public opinion databases that surveyed anti-American sentiment in Islamic countries, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and East Asia. Data compiled from responses in a wide range of categories -- including politics, wealth, science and technology, popular culture, and education -- indicate that anti-American sentiments vary widely across these geographic regions. Through careful analyses, Chiozza shows how foreign publics balance the political, social, and cultural dimensions of the U.S. in their own perceptions of the country. He finds that popular anti-Americanism is mostly benign and shallow; deep-seated ideological opposition to the U.S. is usually held among a minority of groups. More often, Chiozza explains, foreigners have conflicting attitudes toward the U.S. He finds that while anti-Americanism certainly exists, the United States is equally praised as a symbol of democracy and freedom, its ideals of liberty, equality, and opportunity applauded. Chiozza clearly demonstrates that what is reported as undisputed fact -- that various groups abhor American values -- is in reality a complex story. -- Lisa Blaydes

Essays in the fourth volume examine key themes and flashpoints: the 'Bush Doctrine', the Iraq War, the rise of Islamic Fundamentalism, US relations with the UN, and many others.