People's Democracy

Growing Anti-Americanism Across The World

TRADITIONAL NATO allies, developing countries, Eastern Europe countries, Arab world  … there is almost no place in the world where the US is not facing a rising trend of anti-Americanism among the people over the past two years. The peoples’ of these countries are decrying American unilateralism, its aggressive moves towards war on Iraq, and significantly, its globalisation drive and business practices.

These are among the principal findings of the Pew Global Attitudes survey, conducted in 44 nations to assess how the publics of the world view their lives, their nation, the world and the United States. This survey was conducted by the Washington based ‘The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press’. The primary survey was conducted over a four-month period (July-October 2002) among over 38,000 respondents. It was augmented with a separate, six-nation survey in early November 2002, which examined opinion concerning a possible US war with Iraq.

Since 2000, favourability ratings for the US have fallen in 19 of the 27 countries where trend benchmarks were available. While criticism of America is on the rise, the survey found that majorities in 35 of the 44 countries made a distinction between the ruling establishment and the people of the US.

The most hatred for America is concentrated in the Middle East and in Central Asia, the regions on which the US’s hegemonistic designs are centred at present.

The surprising findings of the survey, however, related to how the publics of US traditional allies in Europe felt about the US. There was widespread criticism of US policies and ideals such as American-style democracy and business practices. “In fact, critical assessments of the US in countries such as Canada, Germany and France are much more widespread than in the developing nations of Africa and Asia. … Many people around the world, especially in Europe and the Middle East/Conflict Area, believe the US does not take into account the interests of their country when making international policies,” says the survey report.

MAJORITY AGAINST WAR ON IRAQ

There is an overwhelming opinion in majority of the nations against the US moves towards a war on Iraq. According to the report “this threatens to further fuel anti-American sentiment and divide the United States from the publics of its traditional allies and new strategic friends. … American motives for using force against Iraq are still suspect.”

“Huge majorities in France, Germany and Russia oppose the use of military force to secure the ouster of Saddam Hussein. They see the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians as a greater threat to stability in the Middle East than Saddam’s continued rule. In NATO member country, Turkey, 83 per cent of the people oppose allowing US forces to use bases in their country to wage war on Iraq. Further, a 53 per cent majority of Turkish respondents believe the US wants to get rid of Saddam as part of a war against unfriendly Muslim countries, rather than because the Iraqi leader is a threat to peace,” noted the report.

The Europeans are also suspicious of US intentions in Iraq. The report states “Large percentages in each country polled think that the US desire to control Iraqi oil is the principal reason that Washington is considering a war against Iraq. In Russia 76 per cent subscribe to a war-for-oil view; so too do 75 per cent of the French, 54 per cent of Germans, and 44 per cent of the British. In sharp contrast, just 22 per cent of Americans see US policy toward Iraq driven by oil interests.”

In the follow up survey among the five nations surveyed (aside from the US), many people expressed a high degree of concern that war with Iraq will increase the risk of terrorism in Europe. Two-thirds of those in Turkey say this, as do majorities in Russia, France, Great Britain and Germany. By comparison, 45 per cent of Americans are worried that war will raise the risk of terrorist attacks in the US. The report noted “suspicions about US motives in Iraq are consistent with criticisms of America apparent throughout the Global Attitudes survey.”

GROWING DISCONTENT

Another aspect highlighted by this survey is the growing discontent among the people against the prevailing economic conditions.  “In all but a handful of societies, the public is unhappy with national conditions. The economy is the number one national concern volunteered by the more than 38,000 respondents interviewed. … Majorities in most countries also see US policies as contributing to the growing gap between rich and poor nations, which is also shared by a significant percentage of Americans (39 per cent).

 … Not having enough money for essentials is a common experience for many people outside of the advanced economies. Overwhelming majorities of African respondents say there have been times in the past year when they did not have enough money for food, clothing or health care.

“In much of Latin America, as well as Russia and Ukraine, majorities say there have been times in the past year when they had too little money to afford food. Only in the industrialized nations are reports of doing without the basics of life limited to a distinct minority of the population. Yet the range of problems confronting the world’s people goes well beyond personal deprivation. Health care is high on the list of people’s concerns, as are crime and political corruption,” notes the report.

Another interesting finding is that “the spread of US ideas and customs is disliked by majorities in almost every country included in this survey. This sentiment is prevalent in friendly nations such as Canada (54 per cent) and Britain (50 per cent), and even more so in countries where America is broadly disliked, such as Argentina (73 per cent) and Pakistan (81 per cent).”

Among other major concerns expressed by most of the respondents, the spread of AIDS ranked top, especially in developing nations, and more particularly in Africa. Fear of religious and ethnic violence, global environmental threats, crime and political corruption were the most troubling questions for the people.