Why does the world hate America?

International Economy, The, Wntr, 2003

In the 1970s, it was the so-called "Arab oil sheiks. In the 1980s, the Japanese. At the beginning of the 21st century, the United States has become the world's chief bogeyman, the object of global spite.

To what extent is this sentiment a temporary reaction to the Bush Administration's perceived unilateralism? Or have more deep-seated resentments built up over time? Is this a love-hate relationship with America, a mixture of disgust and admiration? Does the hate relate to resentment of a perceived crass globetrotting American pop culture? Or is it tied to a growing disparity over national wealth and prosperity (and freedom)? Or to America's support for Israel?

Has resentment grown because the 1990s saw a global brain-drain to the United States of a lot of the world's best talent? Or is the resentment tied to America's overwhelming military superiority? Or to the President's relatively "black-and-white" approach to moral and ethical issues ("Axis of Evil")?

In the end, is there much the United States can do about this global attitude? Or is the hatred simply a cost of success? Is the hatred a useful diversion for foreign governments against political and economic failure back home? Or is America today in real serious trouble around the world?

As with most things in life, no one answer tells all. But is there one factor that dominates all others?

SAMUEL BRITTAN

Columnist, Financial Times

"Are you not satisfied with doing an important and useful job, and one for which you are not badly paid. Do you need to be loved as well?" These words were uttered some time ago by the late Harold Lever, a British financial guru and former member of the Wilson Labour cabinet. He was talking to bankers in London. But his remarks could equally apply to the U.S. political and business elite.

The whole question is defensive and guilt-ridden. Since September 11, 2001, an informal coalition of Islamist apologists, wimpish European leaders, and U.S. "public intellectuals" have tried to switch the issue from the threat posed by fundamentalist terrorists to the question of "How likeable is the United States, its leaders or its culture?" Its most nauseating aspect was the remark "They had it coming to them."

The West now faces a threat more difficult to deal with than the old Soviet empire. The latter was led by rational people whose ambitions could be deterred and with whom agreements could also be made. No such dialogue is possible with groups such as Al Qaeda. Any wishful thinking that their aims were confined to the United States should have been dispelled by the atrocity in Bali. But will it take similar atrocities in Berlin, London, or Paris to bring the so-called intelligentsia to its senses. I hope that this lesson will not be taught while this contribution is going through the press.

Of course much is wrong with U.S. foreign policy. The basic fault is believing "My enemy's enemy is my friend"; which led to the support of the Taliban against the Russians and Saddam against Iran. My advice would be to stop supporting Saudi Arabia and to put pressure on the Israeli government on the issues of West Bank settlement and Jerusalem. But do not expect a model Saudi democracy to take over or be surprised if terrorist attacks continue to provoke Israeli over-reaction. The world is not a pleasant place.

When Winston Churchill became British premier in 1940 he made it his job to defeat the Nazis and only secondarily to understand them. There is a battle of civilizations and our first job is to protect ourselves from our enemies and only secondly to understand them.

LEE HAMILTON

Director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and former Chairman, House Committee on International Relations

Anti-Americanism around the world takes two distinct forms: hatred of the United States in the form of international terrorism, and growing resentment of U.S. policies. This resentment is more elusive, and harder to quantify, than international terrorism. It is not just a trait of a militant ideology or political fringe-opposition to U.S. policies is part of the mainstream political culture in Europe, and is gaining momentum in Latin America, Japan, and South Korea.

Resentment of the United States has four main sources: the U.S. proclivity to act unilaterally in international affairs, the style and tone of U.S. foreign policy, opposition to particular U.S. policies, and the way that the United States projects its overwhelming military power. While developing anti-Americanism may do little to constrain immediate U.S. policy objectives, it could increasingly hinder our ability to obtain cooperation on international security issues and other matters of global concern, and is thus a serious threat to long-term U.S. interests.

A certain amount of resentment of the United States is inevitable because we are the only superpower. But the United States is, and should remain, a benign superpower. Our power and influence overseas rests on the idea that that we want to spread our values and prosperity, prefer to work with friends and allies, and use our vast power to protect our national interest and the common interests of those who share our values.