KELLY KENNEDY: Innocents Still Abroad: The Relationship Between Anti-Americanism and U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East. There is a palpable level of anti-Americanism in the Middle East right now, and Americans living there often hide their support for the US. Oddly enough, problems probably appeared with the use of “anti-Americanism” in conjunction with the term.
Theorists of The Theme describe the origins of anti-Americanism as opposition or hostility to America because of the US's position internationally. The best conceptualization of anti-Americanism is probably a combination of several findings at once. Many theories about the origins of anti-Americanism involve America's position and performance in the international community (Friedman 2012, Lynch 2013, Jamal 2014, Katzenstein & Keohane 2009, Telhami 2013).
The other side of the origins debate argues that anti-Americanism stems from American actions abroad. Jamal has even identified what she believes are the origins of anti-Americanism in the Middle East. She argues that a lack of American support for Arab self-determinism in politics perpetuates anti-Americanism in the Middle East (Jamal 2014).
Of the two arguments for the origins of anti-Americanism in the Middle East, the current administration supports the second argument, involving America's actions in the region, more.
Analysis
The views of Americans as a group of people can differ from the views of the United States as a whole, and I wanted to focus on the image of America in the Middle East, not that of its citizens. Even with an extremely low level (just 16%) of Israel included, the average Middle Eastern disapproval of the US has at no time during the 12 years of Pew's Middle East survey been disapproval of the US.
As we can also see from the graph, the country's strong ties with the United States do not translate into positive views of the United States. In 2014, the percentage of disapproval of the US was higher in Jordan (85%) and Turkey (73%). ten percentage points higher than the regional average. On the y-axis, I show only positive responses to each of the four questions that indicate opinion about the US
We can see in each of the four graphs that as approval of the United States decreases, disapproval of America's policies and actions increases. Unfortunately, these graphs do little to describe the direction of the relationship that I assumed was endogenous. Pew also does not ask specific questions relevant to the relationship I discuss in many of the survey years.
In March 2003, the United States began the first phase of the war in Iraq, which lasted until. Telhami found that 80% of Jordanians have a negative view of the United States, while 58% have a favorable view of the United States. In 2006, Pew recorded Egypt's anti-American sentiment at 69 percent, one of the lowest of any Arab country.
Other amendments also introduced changes that were not compatible with the previous parts of the constitution. Anti-American sentiment has declined in Egypt almost as much as in Jordan. The Muslim Brotherhood won a fifth of the total number of seats in the previous elections (BBC, “Egypt Profile”, 2015).
According to some, the anti-American sentiment that swept through the Middle East and Central Asia during the “Anti-American Fall” lay beneath the surface of anti-regime and anti-authoritarian protests all along. In the 2011 protests that followed the Arab Spring, these feelings of inherent unfairness came to the surface as Egyptians realized they could change their situation without US help.
Conclusion
America often uses the promotion of democracy and integration into the global free market as a diplomatic tool. The result is a focus on the United States as the world leader in economic strength and a sense that democracy is being forced on groups even if they do not cooperate (Jamal 2014). America is constantly waging a “war of ideals” in the Middle East and is losing supporters because it continues to insist on “American democracy or no democracy” (Jamal 2014).
As Egyptians and others who participated in the Arab Spring realized this, the importance placed on American support declined and the "Anti-American Autumn" began. In the second part of the analysis I used case studies to show the possible direction of the relationship. Because Pew surveys annually, as opposed to biannually or quarterly, it is not possible to pinpoint specific events within the year, only the change in trend for that year.
Despite these limitations, I believe that the case studies show the same correlation as in the data comparisons. Furthermore, the case study findings indicated the endogeneity of anti-Americanism, or the direction of the relationship, that I initially hypothesized. Research into the possible reasons for spikes in anti-Americanism in both Jordan and Egypt revealed that spikes certainly occurred when the U.S.
A better understanding of anti-Americanism will help the United States come to terms with its changing role in the international world. As other states like China gain more and more control over the world, it is important to know how negative opinions are about the US. There may be a more important connection hidden in the data that I have not been able to unravel due to the limitations of my method.
9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks on the United States. Retrieved from http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139120/marc-lynch/the-persistence-of-arab-anti-americanism. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com world/middleeast/iran-sent-arms-to-iraq-to-fight-isis-us-says.html.
