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Anti-Americanism

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File:Anti-US Tehran.jpg
Mural: Tehran, Iran. 2004

Anti-Americanism or anti-American sentiment is opposition or hostility to the people, culture or policies of the United States. In practice, a broad range of attitudes and actions critical of or opposed to the United States have been labelled anti-Americanism and the applicability of the term is often disputed. Contemporary examples typically focus on opposition to United States government policy, especially foreign policy, although historically the term has been applied to a variety of concepts.

Interpretations of anti-Americanism have often been polarised. Paul Hollander has called it "a relentless critical impulse toward American social, economic, and political institutions, traditions, and values." However, it has also been suggested that Anti-Americanism cannot be isolated as a consistent phenomenon and that the term merely signifies a rough composite of stereotypes, prejudices and criticisms towards Americans or the United States.

Globally, increases in perceived anti-American attitudes appear to correlate with particular policies, such as the Vietnam and Iraq wars. For this reason, critics sometimes argue the label is a propaganda term that is used to dismiss any censure of the United States as irrational.

Definitions and usage

The use of the term anti-Americanism has been cataloged from 1948, entering wide political language in the 1950s. The related term "Americanization" (which is thought often to elicit anti-Americanism) has been dated to a French source as early as 1867. Labeling earlier attitudes and commentary "anti-American" is thus partly a retroactive exercise, though there are numerous examples of hostility directed at the country from at least the late 18th century onwards.

Definitions of the term anti-Americanism have been much debated. German newspaper publisher and political scientist Josef Joffe suggests five classic aspects of the phenomenon: reducing Americans to stereotypes; believing the United States to have an irremediably evil nature; ascribing to the U.S. establishment a vast conspiratorial power aimed at utterly dominating the globe; holding the United States responsible for all the evils in the world; and seeking to limit the influence of the United States by destroying it or by cutting oneself and one's society off from its polluting products and practices. Other advocates of the significance of the term argue that anti-Americanism represents a coherent and dangerous ideological current, comparable to anti-Semitism. Anti-Americanism has also been described as an attempt to frame the consequences of U.S. policy choices as evidence of a specifically American moral failure, as opposed to what may be unavoidable failures of a complicated foreign policy that comes with superpower status.

Its status as an "-ism" is a greatly contended aspect, however, and it is often called a propaganda term by critics who feel it is used to dismiss any censure of the United States as irrational. American academic Noam Chomsky, a prolific critic of U.S. policy, asserts that the use of the term within the U.S. has parallels with methods employed by totalitarian states or military dictatorships; he compares the term to "anti-Sovietism", a label used by the Kremlin to suppress dissident or critical thought, for instance. Brendon O'Connor notes that studies of the topic have been "patchy and impressionistic," and often one-sided attacks on anti-Americanism as an irrational position.

Other scholars have suggested that a plural of anti-Americanisms, specific to country and time period, more accurately describe the phenomenon than any broad generalization.

History

The French Revolution created a new type of anti-American political thought, hostile to the political institutions of the United States and their impact upon Europe. Furthermore, the Romantic strain of European thought and literature, hostile to the Enlightenment view of reason and obsessed with history and national character, disdained the American project.

Anti-technology and Romantic hostility

Nazi propaganda poster addressing the Dutch public in 1944 with the words: "The USA are supposed to save European culture". The image utilizes a number of themes, some of which (racism, use of excessive force, American culture and the influence of Judaism) are still in use within some varieties of modern anti-Americanism.

The French Revolution created a new type of anti-American political thought, hostile to the political institutions of the United States and their impact upon Europe. Furthermore, the Romantic strain of European thought and literature, hostile to the Enlightenment view of reason and obsessed with history and national character, disdained the American project.

The German poet Nikolaus Lenau encapsulated the Romantic view, "With the expression Bodenlosigkeit (rootlessness), I think I am able to indicate the general character of all American institutions; what we call Fatherland is here only a property insurance scheme."

With the rise of American industry in the late nineteenth century, intellectual anti-American discourse entered a new form. Mass production, the Taylor system, and the speed of American life and work became a major threat to some intellectuals' view of European life and tradition.

Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, "The breathless haste with which they (the Americans) work - the distinctive vice of the new world - is already beginning ferociously to infect old Europe and is spreading a spiritual emptiness over the continent."

It has been argued that this thesis transformed into a Heideggerian critique of technologism. Heidegger wrote in 1935: "Europe lies today in a great pincer, squeezed between Russia on the one side and America on the other. From a metaphysical point of view, Russia and America are the same, with the same dreary technological frenzy and the same unrestricted organization of the average man." Oswald Spengler had made similar claims in 1931's Man and Technics and his 1934 bestseller The Hour of Decision.

National Identity

In Iran, the cry of "Death to America" has been used in the parliament and at political rallies. Certain forms of social identity theory argue that the existence of "an other" is crucial to the development of group identity. In the case of a European strand of anti-Americanism, some authors, like A.S. Markowitz in Uncouth Nation: Why Europe Dislikes America, argue it would be linked to the creation of a coalescing European identity.

Others, such as Minxin Pei of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, suggest that the unique character of American nationalism is the cause of some anti-Americanism. According to Noam Chomsky, the concept is totalitarian.

Regional attitudes

Anti-Americanism in some form has existed across different American presidential administrations, though its severity may wax and wane considerably depending upon particular economic or geopolitical issues. George W. Bush's presidency, for instance, is widely seen as inducing a major increase in Anti-Americanism, with the 2003 invasion of Iraq affecting global opinions of the U.S.


Middle East

File:Teheran US Barry Kent2.JPG
Anti-American mural in Tehran

The Middle East region has been a focal point of much anti-American sentiment in the latter decades of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, often blamed on specific U.S. policies in the region, particularly its close relationship with Israel.

Latin America

The perceived failures of the neo-liberal reforms of the 1980s and the 1990s intensified opposition to the Washington consensus, leading to a resurgence in support for Pan-Americanism, support for popular movements in the region, the nationalization of key industries and centralization of government. The movement saw the rise of leaders critical of United States policies throughout the region. Most vocal has been Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, who is known for his strong opposition towards the American government, particularly George W. Bush, driving him to address him in many ways; referring to him as "the devil" before the United Nations, an example of demonization. He has clearly stated his intent to use Venezuela's oil resources as a card "against the toughest country in the world, the United States."

East Asia

In Japan and South Korea, much recent anti-Americanism has focused on the presence and behavior of American military personnel, aggravated especially by high-profile crimes by U.S. servicemembers, such as the 1995 Okinawan rape incident. The on-going U.S. military presence in Okinawa remains a contentious issue in Japan.

While protests have arisen over specific incidents, they are often reflective of deeper historical resentments. Robert Hathaway, director of the Wilson Center's Asia program, suggests: "the growth of anti-American sentiment in both Japan and South Korea must be seen not simply as a response to American policies and actions, but as reflective of deeper domestic trends and developments within these Asian countries." In Japan, a variety of threads have contributed to anti-Americanism in the post-war era, including pacifism on the political left, nationalism on the right, and opportunistic worries over American influence in Japanese economic life. Korean anti-Americanism after the war was fueled by American occupation and support for authoritarian rule, a fact still evident during the country's democratic transition in the 1980s. Speaking to the Wilson Center, Katherine Moon notes that while the majority of South Koreans support the American alliance "anti-Americanism also represents the collective venting of accumulated grievances that in many instances have lain hidden for decades."

Facts, events and possible reasons that might lead to Anti-Americanism

  • Extermination of Native Indians and seizure of their land.
  • War with Mexico and seizure of southern states.
  • War with Canada.
  • Racism and Ku Klux Klan.
  • The dropping of nuclear bombs on two japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII.
  • Korean War and murders of koreans.
  • Anticommunist campaign (McCarthyism) during 50-s and the Rosenbergs' trial.
  • Murder of JFK by his foes.
  • Vietnam War and murders of vietnamese.
  • Murder of Martin Luther King.
  • Murder of Robert Kennedy by his foes.
  • Assasination of Salvador Allende, the president of Chile by CIA.
  • Creation of the military-political trap in Afghanistan and intake of Soviet Union into.
  • Possible organisation of the attack on The Pope Johan Pavel by CIA.
  • Collaboration with Saddam Hussein in the 80-s during Iran-Iraq war.
  • Collaboration with Taliban in the 90-s.
  • Possible organization of the 9/11 attack.
  • Afghan war.
  • The lies about "Saddam's super weapons".
  • Iraqi war and murders of iraqis.
  • Anti-Russian eyes and wishes to destroy Russia.
  • Anti-Rocket Missile in Europe.
  • Hypocrisy about independence of small nations: Kosovo and Abhazia, South Osetia, Tibet, etc.
  • Ambition to command entire world alone.
  • etc.

See also

References

Notes

  1. Hollander, Paul, The Politics of Envy, The New Criterion, November 2002, accessed 29 April 2007.
  2. Paul Hollander defined the prejudice thus: "Anti—Americanism is a predisposition to hostility toward the United States and American society, a relentless critical impulse toward American social, economic, and political institutions, traditions, and values; it entails an aversion to American culture in particular and its influence abroad, often also contempt for the American national character (or what is presumed to be such a character) and dislike of American people, manners, behavior, dress, and so on; rejection of American foreign policy and a firm belief in the malignity of American influence and presence anywhere in the world."
     Andrei S. Markovits, European Anti-Americanism (and Anti-Semitism): Ever Present Though Always Denied, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, retrieved 2008-03-17 (citing Paul Hollander, Anti-Americanism: Critiques at Home and Abroad, 1965 - 1990. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992, p. 339)
  3. ^ O'Connor, Brendan. "A Brief History of Anti-Americanism from Cultural Criticism to Terrorism", Australasian Journal of American Studies, July 2004, pp. 77-92
  4. Rodman, Peter W. The world’s resentment, The National Interest, Washington D.C., vol. 601, Summer 2001
  5. Documenting the Phenomenon of Anti-Americanism By Nicole Speulda, The Princeton Project on National Security, Princeton University, 2005
  6. O'Connor, Brendan, op. cit., p 78: "... Cold War (1945-1989) ... In this period the false and disingenuous labeling of objections to American policies as ‘anti-Americanism’ became more prominent."
  7. Roger, Phillipe. The American Enemy: The History of French Anti-Americanism, introductory excerpt, University of Chicago Press, 2005.
  8. Rubin, Barry. "Understanding Anti-Americanism", Foreign Policy Research Institute, August 2004
  9. Mead, Walter Russell (May/June 2006). "Through Our Friends' Eyes -- Defending and Advising the Hyperpower". Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 2008-04-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Review of Josef Joffe's Überpower: The Imperial Temptation of America.
  10. Markovits, Andrei S. "European Anti-Americanism (and Anti-Semitism): Ever Present Though Always Denied". Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
  11. Kagan, Robert. Of Paradise and Power: America and Europe in the New World Order (2003)
  12. Interviewing Chomsky Preparatory to Porto: Alegre Zmagazine
  13. On Violence and Youth—Noam Chomsky interviewed by Pepi Leistyna and Stephen Sherblom, chomsky.info, quoting Harvard Educational Review, Vol. 65, No. 2, Summer 1995 , retrieved 2008-01-05 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  14. Noam Chomsky on the State of the Nation, Iraq and the Election, DEMOCRACY NOW!, October 21, 2004, retrieved 2008-01-05 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  15. Katzenstein, Peter and Robert Keohane. "Conclusion: Anti-Americanisms and the Polyvalence of America", in Anti-Americanisms in World Politics, Katzenstein and Keohane, eds., Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2006 (forthcoming).
  16. A genealogy of anti-Americanism
  17. James W. Ceaser. "A genealogy of anti-Americanism" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-03-06.
  18. Scott Peterson, In Iran, 'Death to America' is back, The Christian Science Monitor, retrieved 2007-12-05 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  19. "Death To America", Iran Parliament OKs Nuke Enrichment Bill, 1 November, 2004, retrieved 2007-12-05 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  20. Jean-Francois Revel (2006), "Europe's Anti-American Obsession", The American Enterprise, retrieved 2007-12-05 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help) (from internet archive)
  21. Steve Schifferes (6 June, 2003), The roots of anti-Americanism, BBC News, retrieved 2007-12-05 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  22. Jacklyn Martin (December 9, 2002), Is Chomsky 'anti-American'?] Noam Chomsky, chomsky.info, requoting The Herald, retrieved 2007-12-05 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  23. CNN: Anti-Americanism in Europe deepens, February 14, 2003
  24. BBC News. How the US 'lost' Latin America. Online accessed 10 January 2007
  25. Foreign Affairs. Latin America's Left Turn. Online accessed 10 January 2007
  26. James, Ian At U.N., Chavez Calls Bush 'The Devil', AP, 20 September 2006,
  27. Blum, Justin (Washington Post, 22 November 2005)."Chavez Pushes Petro-Diplomacy". Retrieved 29 November 2005.
  28. "Thousands rally against U.S. bases in Okinawa". CNN. October 21, 1995. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
  29. "Road deaths ignite Korean anti-Americanism". International Herald Tribune. August 1, 2002. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
  30. "Rice soothes Japan on rape case". CNN. February 27, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
  31. ^ The Making of "Anti-American" Sentiment in Korea and Japan, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, May 06, 2003, retrieved 2007-12-05 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  32. Glosserman, Bob (2005). "Anti-Americanism in Japan". Korean Attitudes Toward the United States: Changing Dynamics. M. E. Sharpe. pp. 34–45. ISBN 0765614359.
  33. "Anti-Americanism Grows in South Korea". New York Times. July 12, 1987. Retrieved 2008-04-11.

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