Anti-Americanism

Anti-Americanism or anti-American sentiment is strong disapproval for the government, culture, history, or people of the United States of America. These terms are perhaps more commonly used by people who are labelling the views of their opponents, rather than by people who are describing their own position.

Possible causes of Anti-American sentiment

Some people believe anti-Americanism is rooted in envy as much as in any legitimate grievance; these people claim that similar feelings have been held towards every other nation that has gained prominence over its contemporaries. Examples include Spain (Black Legend), Great Britain, Imperial China, and the Roman Empire.

"It's quite easy to explain why America is unpopular in Europe. It's because you are rich, powerful and unbeatable. Everyone hates you if you are rich, powerful and unbeatable. A hundred years ago everyone hated the British Empire because it ruled the world. Now it is the turn of the Americans. It comes with the job. The only difference is that we British seemed to quite enjoy being disliked, whereas you Americans don't like it at all." (Malcolm Muggeridge, circa 1958)

In other words, while all countries are criticised at certain times, the United States is more apt to be disliked due to its world position. For this reason, criticism of America probably does not necessarily fall into the category of xenophobia.

Anti-American sentiments have in the past been strongly supported by the Soviet Union and are particulary strong amongst western European (as well as American) intellectuals. Today those sentiments are supported by petty dictators who see the United States as the most direct threat towards their postion.

Many critics of the United States, however, have specific criticisms. Both these and other explanations for anti-American sentiment are enumerated below.

American economic philosophy

America is usually perceived as having a free market economy with a strong focus on competitive markets and self-sufficiency, based in part on individualism. Some opponents, for example socialists, believe American capitalism is a deeply flawed system that creates massive inequalities. They accuse America of perpetuating and promoting this flawed economic system across the globe, and fighting against the forces of socialism, Marxism, and communism. During the Cold War this was often the primary criticism of the United States, especially in countries with Communist, or pro-Communist regimes. However, not all criticism of American economic philosophy is rooted in support for Marxism/Socialism/Communism. Some believe, for example, that America is not always as committed to free trade as it professes to be. The introduction of tariffs on foreign steel imports was seen by many people outside the US as an instance of America failing to practice what it preaches in terms of free trade. More generally, one might see America's high level of military spending as government support for a large sector of the US economy. It could also be interpreted as a strong defence policy with military and strategic, as opposed to economic, motivations.

American domestic policy

In some countries, particularly in Europe, American retention of capital punishment contributes to the general view that the United States continues to engage in barbarous practices. All European countries except Belarus have abolished capital punishment. Europeans often profess being shocked by the widespread popular support it continues to have in the United States. This shock is amplified by the continuance, among a minority of American states, of allowing juveniles (persons under 18 years of age) to be sentenced to death for capital crimes -- something allowed in only a small handful of the world's countries. Especially in Europe, people perceive a contradiction between America's insistence on human rights around the world and refusing to abolish the death penalty domestically. However, it can be noted that it is often not realized by non-Americans that the USA is not monolithic on the subject of the death penalty; there are currently 12 US states (as well as all US territories such as Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico) that have no death penalty. The US state of Michigan was actually the world's first English-speaking jurisdiction to abolish the death penalty; it was abolished there in 1848.

There is also a widespread belief outside America, that American society is obsessed by violence. Foreigners, especially Europeans, are often perplexed by America's liberal laws on gun ownership, and interpret this, along with the relatively high rates of murder and violent crime, plus the often violent content of American films and television programs, as meaning that American society has widespread tolerance and acceptance of violence.

The War on Drugs is also considered an oppressive activity by many who are socially liberal, both within and outside of the United States. It has resulted in an enormous prison population, much of it composed of nonviolent and lower-class drug offenders. A significant minority of the American population views the War on Drugs as a second Prohibition. It has also resulted in damaging international pressure and intervention directed against other countries involved in the drug trade, such as Colombia.

American foreign policy

One of the major reasons for anti-Americanism is American foreign policy. Both before and after it became the most powerful nation in the world, America has opposed or attacked governments and countries, while sometimes changing its position towards a country or government over time.

The United States has frequently sent its military into foreign nations for various reasons, creating anti-American sentiment in those countries and in other countries which feel threatened by American military power. In Canada, for example, anti-American sentiment was strengthened by the War of 1812. America's conduct in the Vietnam War created extensive anti-American sentiment in many countries. During this war the USA conducted massive bombing campaigns against Cambodia; an estimated 600,000 civilians were killed.

People outside of the US often take for granted a more constant line in foreign politics than is usual in the White House. When presidential elections are followed by changes of the USA's foreign policies, this is often perceived abroad as inconstance or inconsistency. It suppresses foreign peoples' feeling of understanding the USA, and enhances tendencies to believe the worst about the US role in international affairs.

While the interference with foreign countries itself has angered many, apparent inconsistency in the policies -- seemingly to fit American political or economic interests -- has angered many more. Often cited is the United States' support of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein during his war against Iran. When the Senate passed a bill to condemn the Iraqi use of poison gas then president Ronald Reagan threatened to veto the bill if it passed the House. They also remark that the United States supported the Afghan Mujahedeen during that country's occupation by the Soviet Union. The U.S. would argue that changes in its policy come about because of changing conditions, such as the end of the threat of communism.

Relationship with Israel

Another major cause of anti-American sentiment, especially in the Muslim world, is what many people around the world see as America's blind support for Israel.

American intervention in the Arab-Israeli conflict is widely seen as being unfair and biased towards Israel and against the Palestinians. For instance, as they see it, America is quick to criticise Palestinian terror attacks against Israeli civilians, but usually turns a blind eye towards attacks by the Israeli army against Palestinian civilians, and refuses to criticise Israeli wrongdoings. This issue causes huge anger and resentment against America throughout the Muslim world, who believe that America is propping up Israeli tyranny against Muslims. There is also a widespread belief in the Arab world that America's support for Israel is motivated by a racist bias against Arabs or that the American government is controlled by Zionists.

To exacerbate matters, George W. Bush's unfortunate use of the word "crusade," in its modern sense, to characterize his war on terrorism caused many Muslims to associate it with the Crusades.

Support of tyrants

Another cause of resentment against America in the Middle East is that America supports regimes in many Middle-Eastern countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan that are unpopular with many people in those countries, and are seen as oppressive and tyrannical.

Critics have countered, however, that "engagement" with less-than-democratic regimes is a way to promote democratic reforms. This approach is also adopted by European countries such as France.

Undermining democracies

The US role in George Papadopoulos's overthrowing of the Greek democracy, and support for his oppressive military dictatorship 1967-1974, which forced many prominent Greeks to seek refuge in other European democracies, has for the following decades remained a chief source of bad-will across Europe. It's often held to have contributed to the split in NATO and the European Union over the US-led invasion of Iraq, during which Greece had the rotating presidency.

The United States was also criticized for meddling in the internal politics of some of its democratic allies. For instance, the US government funded some French unions through the National Endowment for Democracy, including some with links to far-right violent groups.

America has frequently supported undemocratic governments, coups, or insurgent movements in Latin America -- e.g. Guatemala, Honduras with John Negroponte -- and has on many occasions even invaded Latin American countries for the stated reason of preventing the spread of Communism in the Americas or of stemming the drug trade. This self-appointed role as regional power has roots that go back to the Monroe Doctrine.

Declassified documents show that the American CIA provided significant support for the 1973 military coup in Chile by General Augusto Pinochet, whose regime went on to commit many human rights abuses. This coup was particularly resented by leftists who were fond of Salvador Allende, the elected Marxist president whom Pinochet deposed. The tendency, or even desire, to believe the worst about the U.S. in this and other cases could itself be considered a symptom of anti-Americanism. It has also been alleged that the CIA was involved with the military coups in Brazil and Argentina.

The U.S. provided support for the Contras, a guerilla force which attempted to overthrow Nicaragua's Sandinista government. U.S. President Ronald Reagan, after failing to achieve necessary Congressional support to legally fund the Contras, resorted to funding them through arms sales to Iran, in violation of U.S. law, resulting in the Iran Contra Affair. These incidents, again, have fueled resentment especially of American conservatives. Reagan and the Iran-Contra Affair have been seen as symbols of the evils of American conservatism.

One of the latest examples of alleged U.S. intervention in Latin America is the short-lived coup in Venezuela, where president Hugo Chávez was briefly overthrown on April 11, 2002. Some claim evidence points towards US involvement in the coup, especially when in 2004 unclassified information from National Endowment for Democracy showed that several thousand dollars were paid to Venezuelan institutions which promote the overthrow of Chávez and the end of the what is called the Bolivarian Revolution.

The official (American government) view, which is shared by many Americans -- particularly more conservative Americans -- is that American influence (or interference) in Latin American countries was necessary to stop the spread of tyrannical Communism. Others, especially on the far left, charge that America's main primary interest was economic, and that it was willing to do anything to further American corporate interests in the region.

International institutions

America's treatment and use of international institutions such as the United Nations and World Trade Organization is often seen as self-serving and hypocritical in other countries. Critics point to non-payment of UN dues and refusal to heed to International Court of Justice decisions against America on the one hand, and to enthusiastic embrace of international trials against foreign war criminals and UN sanction mechanisms against official enemies on the other. America's veto power in the United Nations Security Council has repeatedly been used to prevent censure of Israel, thereby angering Arab countries and those supporting them in the Israel-Arab conflict. US unilateralism, or "going its own way" on issues varying from the International Criminal Court to the Kyoto Protocol (see below) is also a cause of criticism.

Some countries, such as France, also dislike very much the fact America has used the veto power in the United Nations Security Council more often than any other country, but consider it an offensive move when their allies use the veto against an American proposition. These countries claim that being allies does not necessarily imply accepting any American proposition.

International trade and trade embargoes

The continuing embargo against Cuba is seen by a broad range of people as vindictive -- and hypocritical in the face of mainland China retaining most-favoured-nation trading status. In 1996 the U.S. passed the Helms-Burton Act, which included a controversial provision which, roughly, allows lawsuits against foreigners who do business with Cuban companies which use property stolen from Americans in the 1959 Cuban Revolution. Some saw this as an offense against other nations' sovereignty and a violation of World Trade Organization rules. And while President Clinton suspended the lawsuit portion of that act, and President Bush has continued its suspension, the act's mere existence is offensive to many.

The U.S. government annually certifies whether other countries cooperate in its War On Drugs; countries which are judged uncooperative are sanctioned economically and diplomatically. This annual review is seen as offensive by many foreign countries, most notably by Mexico.

A long-standing irritant in relations between the United States and its neighbour Canada is the American refusal to abide by NAFTA and World Trade Organization decisions and admit Canadian softwood lumber without applying punitive duties.

Arms trade and anti-proliferation measures

Many small and poor countries -- which lack nuclear weapons -- consider America's efforts to prevent the further proliferation of nuclear weapons to be a thinly veiled attempt to maintain its military advantage. America and most Western countries counter that these efforts benefit all because proliferation would destabilize many conflict regions, most of them involving poor countries.

Some countries, in particular the People's Republic of China, resent U.S. involvement in what it considers its internal affairs. For example, the U.S. selling weapons to Taiwan and its deep involvement in the Taiwan issue has been seen as offensive by the Chinese government. China is also not happy that the U.S. government often criticizes China's human rights practices, and accuses the U.S. of ignoring similar questionable practices in other countries, including the United States itself.

American funding of paramilitary groups

America has a history of supplying funds for paramilitary groups which are called freedom fighters by the donors and their allies, but regarded as extremists or terrorists by the victims and their allies. Such funding may be provided by the government, by private citizens, or by a combination of the two. The Contras in Nicaragua are an example of this.

Even a close ally like the United Kingdom has been the target of such action: there is a long history of Americans openly raising funds for both the Provisional Irish Republican Army and the Real Irish Republican Army. Funds for these groups are commonly raised by Irish-Americans, such as (it has sometimes been alleged) members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, who feel a patriotic sense of involvement in The Troubles in Northern Ireland. (It should be noted that no American government has ever approved of or supported this activity, and that, in general, America has tried to help resolve problems in Ireland, rather than add to them.)

American religious attitudes

Religion, especially in its more conservative or fundamentalist forms, is stronger in America than in much of the rest of the Western world. People who fear or dislike religious extremism, conservatism, or religion in general are believed by American conservatives to have anti-American attitudes as a result.

Some countries very much resent hearing some Americans state a perceived American moral superiority over the rest of the world. They reject the vision of some American leaders who consider it the role of America to be the nation responsible for preserving the world from "Evil," and strongly disapprove of such initiatives such as "Project for the New American Century." Further concern is generated by US Congress's adoption of the resolution of a day of prayer to ensure the divine protection of America against terrorism and its soldiers. Policies such as these seem to call into question the official position of separation of church and state, and have caused some to see Bush as leading a religious crusade. Those who feel strongly in favor of separation of church and state see various issues as evidence of hypocritical behavior, such as the national motto In God We Trust, the "under God" part of the Pledge of Allegiance, etc. and would favor a more rigid separation, such as that in present-day France.

In contrast, people from cultures that have still stronger religious beliefs, Islamic cultures in particular, find offensive the notion of a country of religious tolerance and diversity, with an official separation of church and state.

Perceived American hypocrisy

US politicians and industrial leaders frequently cite principles such as free trade, free speech and democracy, which are held to be universally beneficial; but in practice their actions can sometimes be interpreted as contradicting these principles.

Poor countries often allege that America only supports free trade when it works in its favor, and that America forces them to open up their markets to the West without any reciprocal trade agreements.

Another contentious issue is the large subsidies the American government gives to its farmers, which, according to many poor countries and development and aid groups such as the Red Cross, harms the agricultural sectors of other nations' economies. A common argument is that subsidized American food exports are artificially cheap, making it impossible to compete against them in world markets, thus causing third world economies harm.

The countries of the European Union, however, have also been criticised for this practice.

Free trade is often perceived as being restricted by the protection of uncompetitive industry, e.g., the imposition of tariffs on steel of up to 30% in March 2002, or earlier examples for agricultural products. America's profession of support for democracy is undermined by American support for repressive regimes, as described above.

The United States, along with many other powers, campaigns against attempts to build weapons of mass destruction by countries such as Iraq, Iran, and North Korea, while at the same time holding the world's largest arsenal of such weapons, continuing development of new types of weapons, and ignoring similar programs by Israel. Supporters of US policy in this area, however, may argue that non-proliferation of dangerous weapons is good for all nations, and that the focus should not be on WMD per se, but on preventing WMD from getting into the hands of "rogue states." Of course, it is debatable whether America has always used its weapons responsibly.

American popular culture

Popular culture -- contemporary music, films, books, advertising, web sites and other computer-based media, and especially television -- is America's most visible and one of its most pervasive exports. There is an enormous American "trade surplus" in cultural matters. In countries without strong cultural protection laws, American music, films, and television programmes appear far more frequently than other countries' music, films, and television programs appear in the United States. The home-grown film industries in at least some countries (such as Australia) were bought out and closed down by American interests. The United States has a history of using "free trade" negotiations to open up foreign markets to its cultural products. Many non-Americans fear the growing Americanization of the world.

In many countries, such media carry a large body of material that embodies values considerably different from those of much of the viewing public. From a common European intellectual perspective, most American dramatic narratives are overly violent, hypocritical about sex (combining prudery and exploitation), and portray simplistic attitudes to good and evil. (In fairness, most of the American population agrees with them on at least some of such complaints. Also, there is some amount of ambivalence among Europeans on such issues.)

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Graffiti from Germany

Another concern is the sheer volume of American cultural export, irrespective of any specific concerns with content, which has profound homogenising effects on societies, limiting opportunities for diverse and original perspectives. Many contend that the market for films and television programs is an uneven playing field; for instance, foreign movies are hardly ever imported into the US for show in major theater circuits, while most other Western countries show far more imports. The usual American answer is that this is a sign of the high quality of American movies with respect to movies from countries such as France (see Cinema of France), allegedly uninteresting and funded by subsidies, and that Americans are not interested in seeing unknown foreign actors, or movies shot in a foreign language. Such explanations are often considered a sign of arrogance, exceptionalism and provincialism on the part of the United States.

Meanwhile, other societies, notably Islamic societies see popular Western culture, and popular American culture above all, as propaganda for a secular, sexually and socially libertine society. As such, they also object to American values portrayed in popular culture, though the American values they perceive as present are almost precisely the opposite of those which European cultural critics dislike.

Some non-Americans see trade barriers as a means of protecting their cultures, and view America's lobbying to remove them as insensitivity to this and as cultural imperialism. Many believe that America's political and business establishment views culture as a commodity to be freely traded just like any other.

At least in part because popular culture products have become such a significant export industry for the United States, the United States has been steadily increasing the restrictiveness of its copyright laws to help support its entertainment industry at the expense of several previously protected rights. Examples include enforcing the use of DVD region coding to restrict the import of DVDs from foreign markets (permitted by "first sale" doctrine) or the use of "copy prevention" techniques on compact discs to prevent music from being converted to other formats for use by the CD's owner. There has been significant pressure on other nations to do likewise, to such an extent that in January 2002 the U.S. imposed punitive economic sanctions on Ukraine because they failed to pass stricter domestic copyright laws. China, on the other hand, continued to retain most-favored-nation trading status despite being widely recognized as the largest center of intellectual property violation in the world. See also: WIPO, Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act

The American way of life

Americans are well-known for their pride in their standard of living as well as their country's achievements, and for their allegiance to at least some of the ideals of the founders of the country, now often taken for granted in most of the industrialized world, such as freedom and equal justice under the law. It is not infrequently said that American patriotism is the first patriotism founded on a set of political ideals, rather than on nationalism or ethnicity. Patriotism in the U.S. often appears offensively arrogant to the rest of the world. For example, American politicians sometimes call America the "greatest nation that has ever existed on the face of the Earth."

It is worth noting in this connection that patriotism and nationalism exist all throughout the world, but is moderated in most countries by extensive foreign media content (something that the US does not have), and that no other country has been as successful in the wholesale export of its view through the modern mass media. Many, especially in Europe, contend that the American public is generally ignorant of foreign issues and lacks historical and geographical knowledge; a 2002 study made for National Geographic showed that "US young adults are lagging" in their geographical knowledge compared to young adults in other developed countries. Many contend that such ignorance is reinforced by the Americentrist coverage of the American media and the emphasis given in the educational system and the media on things American and the benefits of living in America, failing to mention that the same apply to all modern democratic countries.

The fact that girls in America are educated along with boys, that women can go out in public unescorted by male relatives, and that women have the same rights as men, including the right to vote and to serve in the armed forces, is also at odds with many religious or cultural traditions of some democratic and non-democratic countries. Such rights however are neither exclusive to, nor originated in, America but are common in much of the Western world, it is thus unlikely that such concerns are sufficient motivation for specifically anti-American sentiment.

America and the environment

The American way of life is regarded by environmentalists as wasteful and environmentally irresponsible. Americans have the highest per-capita consumption of resources and energy in the world, and the fact that the U.S. government does not take decisive action to curb this use creates hostility. For instance, statistics show that the 4% of the world's population that live within the United States creates 25% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions.

In reply to these allegations it is said that America does have stringent environmental laws which, unlike those in many countries, are actually enforced; that America itself produces a great many of the items it consumes; that America pays for the resources it imports; and that America's rate of consumption is due to a high standard of living, which all nations aspire to.

Critics contend that these replies fail to answer the allegation, that the American way of life is wasteful and polluting, and point out that other industrialised countries use significantly fewer resources per-head of population than America and still retain a high standard of living.

In 1997, the U.S. Senate voted 95-0 that the United States should not become a party to the Kyoto Protocol unless developing nations such as the People's Republic of China (second in emissions), which are presently exempted, are also subject to scheduled limits or reductions of greenhouse gases. This refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol is often quoted as an example of America's irresponsibility in this area.

American values

Some nationalist and ethnic chauvinist critics of America may dislike the perceived American model of a multicultural society. America is often regarded as an "immigrant country", which some ideologies disdain as so-called "race-mixing". Critiques of America during Nazi Germany fall under this category; the U.S. was a portrayed as a nightmare of miscegnation, riddled with Africans, Asians, and Jews. Radical Islam has also been interpreted as opposing American-style religious tolerance, in which Muslims and non-Muslims live in harmony.

The Dangers of Anti-Americanism

As with all ideologies which generalize a particular group of people, based on national origin, race, sexuality, religion, etc., extreme forms of anti-Americanism has resulted in large scale atrocities against Americans, such as the September 11, 2001 attacks. Some terrorist groups have declared their goal is to kill any and all Americans anywhere. This can be seen as the logical extension of some extreme anti-American rhetoric in which the U.S. is portrayed as an absolute evil and barbaric. Some theorists argue that such extreme rhetoric leads to crimes against the target of the rhetoric. For instance, symbolization and dehumanization are two of Genocide Watch's "8 Stages of Genocide".

References

Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire by Chalmers Johnson
Anti-Americanism by Paul Hollander

External links