Anti-Americanisms in World Politics

In 1941 Henry Luce spoke of the coming of "the American century." Today commentators across the political spectrum emphasize America's dominant military capabilities and economic strength. Yet after sixty years of global leadership, the United States is far from universally admired worldwide. A series of polls taken in the winter of 2004 showed that in 16 of 22 countries surveyed, a plurality or majority of the public said that the United States had mainly a negative influence in the world. What is commonly called "antiAmericanism" the expression of negative attitudes toward the United States has spread far and wide, including in parts of the world where publics showed deep sympathy with the United States after the 9/11 attacks. The sensitivity of Americans to these expressions of dislike may say as much about America as about others' views of the United States. Alexis de Tocqueville commented on this subject in the mid 19th century: “The Americans, in their intercourse with strangers, appear impatient of the smallest censure and insatiable of praise... They unceasingly harass you to extort praise, and if you resist their entreaties they fall to praising themselves. It would seem as if, doubting their own merit, they wished to have it constantly exhibited before their eyes”. The undeniable upsurge in the expression of anti-American sentiment abroad since 2002 has led to anxieties among many Americans. It is not obvious, however, whether these sentiments are primarily a reaction to the Bush administration and its policies or whether they derive from more fundamental sources. As a way of distinguishing between fundamental and ephemeral sources