Victor Davis Hanson: Popularity Contest. Why they hate, and like, us

The latest Pew poll of June 2007 purports to offer a comprehensive survey of what the world thinks of the United States. Polls, of course, can be unreliable; and much of the commonly expressed anti-Americanism seems to be a mere reflection of disdain shown by our own intellectuals and academics, Hollywood, and the media. While it is hard to separate what foreigners feel about Americans in general from their opinions about the United States government in particular, the results of this latest survey are both predictable and astonishing.

The nations of the Middle East and other Islamic countries, of course, poll anti-United States across the board, from Palestine to Morocco. And therein arise some interesting paradoxes. Kuwait, once extinguished until the American military restored it, is the most pro-American nation of the Arab Middle East. Yet, even there, as many Kuwaitis have an unfavorable opinion of America as a favorable one.

Turkey is democratic, a NATO ally, and a recipient of substantial American military aid. Yet it reveals the highest level of anti-Americanism of any country polled — 83 percent express an unfavorable view of the U. S. Perhaps that enmity is due to our support for Kurdistan and the resentments of Ankara’s own Islamist government. In any case, so much for the ballyhooed American efforts to bolster Turkey’s bid to join the EU. In theory, if we opposed Turkish membership, or suggested that Ankara leave NATO, would our image then improve? Again, something is terribly wrong when four out of five “allied” Turks feel so unfavorably toward the United States.

Egypt has received collectively well over $50 billion in American help, but only 21 percent of its population seems to like the United States. In fact, whether we save countries like Kuwait, or lavish money on Palestine, Egypt, and Jordan (20-percent approval rating), or send billions to rebuild Afghanistan, or try to help Muslim Turkey get into the EU, or buck up Pakistan (15-percent approval), or feed poor Muslims in Somalia, or chastise the Russians about Chechnya, or bomb the Muslim-killing Serbians, or lead the effort to save Muslim Indonesians after the Tsunami, it all apparently matters very little. It may sound counterintuitive, but Russia (the country that leveled Grozny and exterminated Chechen Islamic rebels) seems to be better thought of in the Middle East than we are — or perhaps more feared, which in the region is apparently the same thing.

Apologists, of course, will cite our policies in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Israel as catalysts for Middle East hatred. But clearly there is some preexisting venom involved that makes the Muslim Street ignore all the good we have done, and focus only on what is considered bad. It is most likely modern Islam’s inability to confront Western-inspired modernism, particularly the hypocritical desire for practices and things American, combined with the concomitant religious embarrassment over those only partially fulfilled appetites. The mindset of the Middle East is best summed up as something like “I deserve what you Americans have, but won’t ever become like you to get it.”

In turn, what enrages America about the petulant Islamic world’s dislike is mostly the unwillingness of these nations to translate their popular anger into any concrete action. We would expect these belligerents to refuse U.S. aid, cease immigrating to the United States, keep their students from visiting the Great Satan, or kick the U.S. military out of the Persian Gulf.

In response, while the Arab masses seethe, thousands of American scientists are working overtime on remedies for their anger — namely how not to import any oil from this dysfunctional region that makes us vulnerable to its blackmail while enriching unstable regimes that do real harm to the world at large.

Even more perplexing are the attitudes voiced by some key European countries — France (60 percent unfavorable to the U.S.), Germany (66-percent unfavorable), and Spain (60 percent). Millions of Europeans in these countries express a much more negative view of the United States than do Hugo Chavez’s Venezuelans. So much for the supposedly sweeping changes in France and Germany that brought the Sarkozy and Merkel governments to power.

For this unspoken implosion of the Atlantic Alliance, we can fault the usual suspects — Iraq, the war on terror, George Bush’s 2002 unilateralism, America’s failure to ratify Kyoto, or the envy that these erstwhile imperial powers feel about being upstaged by a mongrel democracy.

But who really cares to calibrate all the reasons why the Germans hated us when Ronald Reagan deployed Pershing missiles to protect them, or why the Greeks hated us when Madeline Albright tried to stop Balkan genocide, or why the French hated us for ending the once lucrative Baathist regime in Iraq? Instead, at some point Americans should ask themselves how they can continue to be allied militarily with countries whose populations have a more negative view of us than do our supposed rivals in Russia (48 percent unfavorable) and China (57 percent).

Contrast all that dislike with those nations who appreciate the United States, which tells us something much different about America’s role in the world. The Kenyans and Ghanaians, for example, reveal more admiration for the United States (87 and 80 percent, respectively) than do we Americans ourselves.

In fact, all of sub-Saharan Africa — poor and with a past of exploitation — has an unbelievably high regard for the U.S. Perhaps black Africans appreciate our support for democracy, realize that we were not colonialists, see that blacks are succeeding in the U.S. in a way unthinkable elsewhere, know that we spearhead the global effort to bring AIDS relief and stop the genocide in Darfur, and sympathize with their own long struggle against radical Islam.

Much of Eastern Europe is similarly well-inclined. Poland, for example (61 percent approval rating), does not trust Russia — and does not trust Europe to offer any help in a future hour of crisis.

Likewise, many countries of Latin America — Mexico, Chile, Peru — poll staunchly pro-American. We have tried to support these shaky Latin American democracies, welcomed their immigrants, and allowed billions of dollars to be sent back as worker remittances. And unlike a Spain, France, Germany, the Muslim Middle East, Russia, or China, such confident emerging nations also are not hung up on perceived past grandeur, blame-gaming the new superpower for their own subordinate roles.

Indeed, how strange that these poor countries in Africa, Eastern Europe, and South America are more favorable to America than are oil-rich sheikdoms, rich European socialist republics, and Middle East recipients of massive U.S. aid.

The more confident a nation is, even when poor, the more likely it seems to admire America. Some of our best supporters turn out to be one-billion person India (59 percent favorable rating), Japan (61 percent), and South Korea (58 percent) — all democratic, capitalist juggernauts, and appreciative of liberal American trade policy and U.S. military support. Again, should we Americans value the friendship of such democracies — or that of a China that cheats on international trade accords and intimidates its neighbors?

So it is encouraging to be admired by idealistic populations in Africa and Eastern Europe, and shown friendship by India and Japan. But perhaps it is equally to our credit that a bullying China and Russia, a dictatorial and intolerant Middle East, and smug nations of Western Europe seem to resent us, especially our support for democratic change abroad.

No doubt when the Bush administration leaves office, and should a Democratic one replace it, our approval ratings will rise with our present detractors. But they may also decline among our friends who will learn that U.S. open markets, free trade, and reliable military support in times of crisis are now objects of left-wing criticism. Note in this regard that world opinion toward both China and Russia is turning unfavorable. That distrust will only increase as both begin to flex their muscles — the former gobbling up oil contracts from the most murderous regimes, the latter selling the same rogues anything they need to foment unrest.

Britain should tread carefully, since it is even more likely that a growing number of Americans is turned off by Europe, British anti-Americanism, NATO, and the Middle East. And in the long history of this country, isolationism, not intervention, has been the more natural American sentiment.

If the British think their Tony Blair was George Bush’s poodle, they may soon see a British prime minister reduced to a Chinese, Iranian, or Russian hamster — as we already have witnessed with the Russian assassination scandal and the even more embarrassing Iranian hijacking of a British boat.

Unfortunately, Russia and China will only grow wealthier from oil and trade surpluses, while the chances improve of a petrol-rich dictatorship in the Middle East gaining nuclear weapons within missile range of Europe. What will keep the U.S. engaged as a powerful ally of a Britain and Europe in their coming hour of need will not be brilliant statesmen or Atlantic-minded Presidents, but only American public opinion and goodwill that are predicated on some notion of reciprocal friendship.

In that regard, such polls continue to be mostly one-sided. What we need now are new comprehensive surveys of what Americans themselves think of the United Nations, the Islamic world, and Western Europe — so that they can try to square the results with our present foreign policy of aid, friendship, or military assistance to those who apparently don’t want or appreciate what they receive.

Victor Davis Hanson Ping !

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You know, I have never understood this all consuming need by liberals for America to be liked and well-regarded by rest of the world. Who cares? I certainly don’t! We know who our real friends are (GB, Australia, Japan, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Israel, and somtimes Canada), and if the rest of the world don’t like us, then tough!

Seems Liberals are most concerned why our worst enemies ( followers of pervert Mohhammed) hate us.
We will eventually have to wipe them off face of this planet, just as we defeated fascism half a century ago.

I am not surprised to see India as a country which has a high number of their population favorable to this country. I have a very favorable view of their country as well although I have never traveled there. I have had the good fortune to become acquainted with many Indian professionals, most of whom have become citizens of this country. I consider a couple among my most valued friends. Their cultural background is different than mine, but we share the core American values that were instilled by my family and community. I find them more American and assimilated than so much of this Hate America crowd which is a product of a rotten liberal public school system as well as a product of the MSM and popular culture which is self-hating.

We only keep our eyes on Russia and China as they concern us, but we shouldn't forget that everything isn't exactly roses between them.

I've read a few things suggesting that with the Russian population shrinking and the growth of both the Chinese population and their new found wealth (which some say is an illusion) that there will be trouble on the China/Russia border, among the more than a dozen territorial disputes China is involved in.

Mine too. But they were not in the survey:

Countries and regions included in the survey:

The Americas: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico, Peru, United States, Venezuela

Western Europe: Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden

Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine

Middle East: Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian territories, Turkey

Asia: Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, South Korea

Africa: Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda

I read that there is already a good number of illegal Chinese in the Russian Far East territories. The population density in the Russian regions right above China is very-very low. I am sure China would pounce on it if it could.

Another observation from the Pew data. South Koreans put a concern about spreading of nuclear weapons very low on their priority list. Pollution and “growing gap between the rich and poor” rate quite higher. I think this partially explains why North Korea was allowed to play so much with nukes. South Koreans don’t believe that they would be used against them and in a case of unification, they’d get nuclear status right away. Cynical, and I think misguided on their part. I would not trust crazed dictators. Japan rightfully disagrees as well: it has 3 times bigger concern about nukes than S.Korea.

"Our fathers and grandparents or those before them came to America to get away from the oppression of Europe and other places. They wanted to be free as most of us want to be today. So why should we give a flying F what they think of us? They can dwell in their socialist utopias and third world sh*t holes and leave us alone....but no, they are jealous and want us to suffer like them.

"..Envy is such an important but generally ignored concept, probably because people don't want to consider the sinister ways it operates in their own lives. But it is a key that unlocks many mysteries, particularly in politics. So strong and pervasive is envy, that you cannot have a political system that doesn't accommodate or find some way to manage envy. You might say that one party will generally represent the envied, the other the envious. Guess which ones.

More generally, the international left does not attack the United States because they hate us. Rather, they hate the United States because they envy us. Precisely because they cannot tolerate our unparalleled goodness and success, they attack it and turn America into a uniquely bad, greedy and envious object. It is pure projection. In engaging in this projection of their own greed and envy, they damage what is good and conflate good and evil, but at least it helps to temporarily diminish the pain of their own envy. They do the same thing with Israel.

But "...to use one of Freud's most famous phrases, when it comes to the projection of envy and greed, "the one who smelt it, dealt it." bttt

No doubt when the Bush administration leaves office, and should a Democratic one replace it, our approval ratings will rise with our present detractors.

Unlikely. When Clinton left the office here is how the Europeans said of him behind you Americans backs:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1597970/posts

He will go down as the man who made America vain and egocentric and not willing to deal with the outside world. He encouraged the US to use its financial muscle to dictate to the world how it should live and any difference of opinion is not to be tolerated. Wake up America and get a president with compassion not just passion.

Mark Lisle, Germany

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For merciless bombing campaigns to distract attention from him NOT 'having sexual relations with that woman'. For supporting Israel as they broke numerous UN Resolutions in order to gain the political support of the New York Jewish Vote. For his love for a fine Cuban Cigar!

Wayne Brannan, UK

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Clinton clearly has done a good job on the domestic front creating jobs and improving the already high American quality of life. However he still pursued the bully-boy foreign policy of the United States which did not help his popularity outside of the US. Inside the US I believe he will be remembered as the President who was there when petrol prices peaked.

Nicholas Bradley, UK

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Another point that American liberals conveniently overlook is that while PR China is given a pass on a glance in polite diplomatic language, in practice the Western European countries are extremely negative towards individual mainland Chinese and PRC practices. For instance, ask individual French what they think of people in France who are from mainland China, and you will hear tales of mainland Chinese spitting on the streets, behaving immodestly on Parisian streets, nouvelle riche faces, etc, and they will gladly take the “where’s the McDonalds” American stereotyped tourists over these “daiquans” any day. Anyone who holds PRC passports are given additional scrutiny at CDG because so many Chinese arrive there and then overstay to become illegal immigrants.

Even among the “We are friends with you” Southeast Asia, PRC passport holders are looked down upon by the local Chinese.

Of course, this may not yet necessarily translate towards attitudes to national policy of PRC as a country, but given time I don’t think the European countries will really be that buddy-buddy with the PRC in the future.

A number of British diplomats have expressed weariness over the old special relationship with America. Likewise, the British public now barely expresses a favorable impression of the United States (51 percent). But given the emerging world landscape, such a change in attitude would be suicidal for the United Kingdom. History would instead counsel the British people that Europe has nearly destroyed them twice in the twentieth century, while America sought to save them — and would again in the twentieth-first.
Britain should tread carefully, since it is even more likely that a growing number of Americans is turned off by Europe, British anti-Americanism, NATO, and the Middle East. And in the long history of this country, isolationism, not intervention, has been the more natural American sentiment.
If the British think their Tony Blair was George Bush’s poodle, they may soon see a British prime minister reduced to a Chinese, Iranian, or Russian hamster — as we already have witnessed with the Russian assassination scandal and the even more embarrassing Iranian hijacking of a British boat.

Do you think Britons will listen to this?

Hi NZ,

I think that a 51% approval rating from the British people is actually quite good. That will be far higher than Britain’s approval rating for Europe. Britain’s the most Euro-skeptic country in Europe (including Poland). The British people are naturally cynical and if you ally that with our losses in Iraq and Afghanistan you may have expected far worse. I think the author overplays his argument with regards to Britain though. I really don’t see a weariness with the special relationship here and Brown has ruled out putting an artificial timetable on Britain’s withdrawal from Iraq. The UK is also increasing still further it’s committment to Afghanistan. I think it’s a bit insulting to suggest that the UK PM might be reduced to a ‘Chinese, Iranian, or Russian hamster’. The author also suggests that the assassination of the Russian dissident in the UK was a British failure. I thought Britain’s response was robust. The UK was the first country in the West to actually fully stand up to Putin in ths way. How the author calls this an embarrassment for Britain I don’t know.

With regards to the US: You have to remember in all this, of course, that dominant world powers have always been resented around the world.

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