"I wonder whether Democrats ever indulge the suspicion that 'world opinion' may be bunk?"-- Mona Charen, on recent polls showing only 35 percent of respondents in 34 countries had a “mainly positive” view of the U.S., in The National Review.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
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Anti-Americanism has increased in recent years, and the United States' soft power -- its ability to attract others by the legitimacy of U.S. policies and the values that underlie them -- is in decline as a result. According to Gallup International polls, pluralities in 29 countries say that Washington's policies have had a negative effect on their view of the United States. A Eurobarometer poll found that a majority of Europeans believes that Washington has hindered efforts to fight global poverty, protect the environment, and maintain peace. Such attitudes undercut soft power, reducing the ability of the United States to achieve its goals without resorting to coercion or payment.
ReplyDeleteSkeptics of soft power (Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld professes not even to understand the term) claim that popularity is ephemeral and should not guide foreign policy. The United States, they assert, is strong enough to do as it wishes with or without the world's approval and should simply accept that others will envy and resent it. The world's only superpower does not need permanent allies; the issues should determine the coalitions, not vice-versa, according to Rumsfeld.
But the recent decline in U.S. attractiveness should not be so lightly dismissed. It is true that the United States has recovered from unpopular policies in the past (such as those regarding the Vietnam War), but that was often during the Cold War, when other countries still feared the Soviet Union as the greater evil. It is also true that the United States' sheer size and association with disruptive modernity make some resentment unavoidable today. But wise policies can reduce the antagonisms that these realities engender. Indeed, that is what Washington achieved after World War II: it used soft-power resources to draw others into a system of alliances and institutions that has lasted for 60 years. The Cold War was won with a strategy of containment that used soft power along with hard power.
The United States cannot confront the new threat of terrorism without the cooperation of other countries. Of course, other governments will often cooperate out of self-interest. But the extent of their cooperation often depends on the attractiveness of the United States.
Soft power, therefore, is not just a matter of ephemeral popularity; it is a means of obtaining outcomes the United States wants. When Washington discounts the importance of its attractiveness abroad, it pays a steep price. When the United States becomes so unpopular that being pro-American is a kiss of death in other countries' domestic politics, foreign political leaders are unlikely to make helpful concessions (witness the defiance of Chile, Mexico, and Turkey in March 2003). And when U.S. policies lose their legitimacy in the eyes of others, distrust grows, reducing U.S. leverage in international affairs.
Bullshit. It's like you've never heard of the word "respect", which you don't get by always being loved. Sometimes you've got to go your own way, stand up for yourself, look people in the eye and say "no" - especially if they weren't really your friends to begin with. Folks who would only hang with you as long as you have money, or are doing what they say, or doing them favors, but ain't there for you when you need them, or even just ask.
ReplyDeleteYou're a defeatist; totally brainwashed into a demoralized perspective. It's sad to see but not unexpected: check out the videos on the brainwashing post, and under the Maharishi tag. You could learn a lot about what's bugging you.
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ReplyDeleteIn sunshine and in shadow we look to Him, and He is there to assure and smile upon us.
ReplyDeleteLaughably naive. Countries don't have "friends" they have strategic economic, trade, military and political allies.
ReplyDeleteWhen a country sets and implements policy in a manner perceived as reckless or self-destructive, it loses influence and clout. As a result, it is no longer able to lead by force of belief or admiration; instead it must fall back on the carrot and the stick - buying influence, or imposing it by violence - both extremely expen$ive options.
I'm naive? Those polls you mention put us in league with countries like North Korea - an exageration to say the least (the very least) - so the anti-Americanism, that you admit has "increased", was already there and is merely getting more airtime. (From people like you, I might add,...or do you think slagging your own country is a way to increase it's popularity, at home, and abroad?)
ReplyDeleteI would suggest you read the article I posted, before you go further, because, as it makes clear and I've seen in my international travels, just because people claim things doesn't make it so, and they'll make those claims for thier own advantage - not because it does us any good.
If you want to get some middle aged women's opinion on profanity in rap music, then definitely Mona Charen is hard to beat.
ReplyDeleteIf on the other hand you would get some serious political analysis from a former Assistant Secretary of Defense, then it would make more sense to read someone like Joseph Nye.
Whatever, and I do mean WHATEVER CMC may (or may not) be, he/she/it is not naive. Not naive. Laughably or otherwise.
ReplyDeleteNo thanks, on both counts:
ReplyDeleteI keep my own counsel.