Anti-Americanism

Two protesters in Iran tearing an American flag at an anti-American rally after the American withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal

Anti-Americanism (also called anti-American sentiment and Americanophobia) is a term that can describe several sentiments and positions including opposition to, fear of, distrust of, prejudice against or hatred toward the United States, its government, its foreign policy, or Americans in general.[1] Anti-Americanism can be contrasted with pro-Americanism, which refers to support, love, or admiration for the United States.

Political scientist Brendon O'Connor at the United States Studies Centre in Australia suggests that "anti-Americanism" cannot be isolated as a consistent phenomenon, since the term originated as a rough composite of stereotypes, prejudices, and criticisms which evolved into more politically-based criticisms. French scholar Marie-France Toinet says that use of the term "anti-Americanism" is "only fully justified if it implies systematic opposition – a sort of allergic reaction – to America as a whole."[2] Some, such as Noam Chomsky and Nancy Snow, have argued that the application of the term "anti-American" to other countries or their populations is 'nonsensical', as it implies that disliking the American government or its policies is socially undesirable or even comparable to a crime.[3][4] In this regard, the term has been likened to the propagandistic usage of the term "anti-Sovietism" in the USSR.[3]

Discussions on anti-Americanism have in most cases lacked a precise explanation of what the sentiment entails (other than a general disfavor), which has led the term to be used broadly and in an impressionistic manner, resulting in the inexact impressions of the many expressions described as anti-American.[5] Author and expatriate William Russell Melton argues that criticism largely originates from the perception that the U.S. wants to act as a "world policeman".[6]

Negative or critical views of the United States or its influence have been widespread in Russia, China, Serbia,[7] Pakistan,[8] Bosnia and Herzegovina,[9] Belarus,[10] and the Greater Middle East,[11][12] but remain low in Israel, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Korea, Vietnam,[13] the Philippines, and certain countries in central and eastern Europe.[11] In Western Europe, anti-Americanism is mainly present in the United Kingdom and France.[14][15] Anti-American sentiment (though action is uncommon) is prevalent in Canada.

Anti-Americanism has also been identified with the term Americanophobia,[16][17][18] which Merriam-Webster defines as "hatred of the U.S. or American culture".[19][20]

  1. ^ Chiozza, Giacomo (2009). Anti-Americanism and the World Order. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
  2. ^ O'Connor, Brendan (July 2004). "A Brief History of Anti-Americanism from Cultural Criticism to Terrorism" (PDF). Australasian Journal of American Studies. 23 (1). The University of Sydney: 77–92. JSTOR 41053968. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2013.
  3. ^ a b Chomsky, Noam (1993). "Totalitarian Culture in a Free Society". Internet Archive. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  4. ^ Snow, Nancy (2006). The Arrogance of American Power: What U.S. Leaders Are Doing Wrong and Why It's Our Duty to Dissent. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 27ff. ISBN 0-7425-5373-6. OCLC 69992247.
  5. ^ O'Connor, Brendan, p 89.
  6. ^ William Russell Melton. The New American Expat: thriving and surviving overseas in the post-9/11 world. (Intercultural Press 2005. p. XIX.)
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference B92_2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ U.S. Global Leadership Project Report - 2012 Archived 13 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine Gallup
  9. ^ Moy, Will (11 May 2018). "America: seen as the number one threat to world peace, says one survey". Full Fact. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Rating World Leaders: 2016-2017 The U.S. vs. Germany, China and Russia (page 12)". Gallup. 2018. Archived from the original on 13 December 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Public Opinion of the U.S." Pew Research Center. April 2018. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  12. ^ "BBC World Service poll" (PDF). GlobeScan. BBC. 30 June 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  13. ^ "U.S. Image Suffers as Publics Around World Question Trump's Leadership". pewresearch.org. 26 June 2017. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  14. ^ Philippe Roger. "The American Enemy, The History of French Anti-Americanism". Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  15. ^ "Realities behind British "Anti-Americanism":The Minority Leading the National Pastime". December 1952.
  16. ^ Gulddal, Jesper (2007). "'The one great Hyperpower in the Sky': anti-Americanism in contemporary European literature". Cambridge Review of International Affairs. 20 (4). Informa UK Limited: 677–692. doi:10.1080/09557570701680720. hdl:1959.13/927709. ISSN 0955-7571. S2CID 144151095.
  17. ^ O'Connor, B.; Griffiths, M. (2007). Anti-Americanism: Causes and sources. Anti-Americanism: History, Causes, and Themes. Greenwood World Pub. pp. 7–21. ISBN 978-1-84645-024-2. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  18. ^ Guerlain, Pierre (17 October 2007). "A Tale of Two Anti-Americanisms". European Journal of American Studies. 2 (2). OpenEdition. doi:10.4000/ejas.1523. ISSN 1991-9336.
  19. ^ "Americanophobia". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  20. ^ Denis Lacorne, "Anti-Americanism and Americanophobia: A French Perspectives." (2005).