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America's Image Rebounds
Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP Photo
The Nobel Prize was not the only indication that America’s popularity is on the rebound. Michael Fullilove sifts the global poll numbers, and reports the Bush era is officially over.
In early 2008, the French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, was asked whether the United States could repair the damage it had suffered to its reputation during the Bush presidency. His reply: “the magic is over….It will never be as it was before.”
Kouchner was not alone in his analysis. Former presidential candidate Howard Dean thought it would take decades to restore America’s prestige. Gore Vidal reportedly said it would take closer to a century.
So long as Washington doesn’t go out of its way to alienate and ignore the world, it apparently has significant stores of public goodwill on which it can draw.
Just eighteen months after Kouchner’s comments, however, global attitudes towards the United States are undergoing a V-shaped recovery. Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize was emblematic of something that can be quantified across the world. A recent multi-nation Pew poll found: “In many countries opinions of the United States are now about as positive as they were at the beginning of the decade before George W. Bush took office.”
The newly released Nation Brands Index shows the United States in the top spot as the country with the best overall brand, up from seventh place a year ago.
And Down Under, where attitudes towards America can be seen as a bellwether, a Lowy Institute poll released today in Australia has 85% of the adult population saying the Australia-United States alliance is very or fairly important for Australia’s security—up 22 points since 2007. This is the highest level of support recorded for the alliance since polling began five years ago and the first time that a majority of Australians have said that the alliance with the United States is “very important”.
Trust in the United States has also risen: 83% of Australians now trust America “a great deal” or “somewhat” to act responsibly in the world, up 23 points since 2006.
Australians also appear to disagree with those analysts who argued during the end of the Bush presidency that the U.S. was in terminal decline. 70% of Australians believe it is either very or somewhat likely that Australia will still be able to rely on the United States to provide a security guarantee in 20 years’ time.
Sceptics may respond: “well, the Australians would say that,” since their country is another English-speaking democracy spread across a continent located on the edge of the Pacific.
Yet at the nadir of the Bush era, even Australians felt no more warmly about the United States than they did about countries as culturally different as China and India. And in the Lowy Institute’s 2005 poll, by one measure, as many Australians were worried by U.S. foreign policies as they were by Islamic fundamentalism.
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jfortynine
I can hardly wait to hear from the right all about how dangerous it is that the world no longer hates us...............
AngryJ
Well you asked for it:
"anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved." ~ Niccolò Machiavelli
The idea is that when you are loved, you can still be hurt or attacked, when you are feared, even those might who despise you will not attack because they are too afraid.
Of course the author did state that being both loved and feared is best...
amanda07070
Oh AngryJ - Now we all understand your name. Who hurt you so badly that you think fear is so good? It's a sad argument.
BTW - Here are some other quotes by Machiavelli:
Before all else, be armed.
I'm not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it.
A wise ruler ought never to keep faith when by doing so it would be against his interests.
I think he must have been a Republican.
Veronicaxy
I have known many leaders in my life who were liked, trusted and you definitely don't want to mess with. They're the most effective because they win all kinds of support.
Bush/Cheney were bullies and when they needed to build international coalitions they could only get help from the weakest nations. That was a severe weakness for the U.S. in every meaning of the word.
AngryJ
LOL, amanda07070
Touche, but really I think the wisdom is in the quote, not so much for the author. I mean they named a whole type of psychology after the guy...and I am damn sure he wasn't a Republican.
JohnnyAces
Teddy Roosevelt had it right..."speak softly and carry a big stick". Cheney and Rumsfeld did not believe in that philosophy. They were arrogant, they forced friend and foe to dig their heels in, and they went head first into places we didn't belong. No one should doubt that we still have a "big stick". Obama knows this and choses to avoid inflamatory rhetoric in place of intelligent dialogue. You can bet he and thes administration are working hard behind the scenes for our best interests. How refreshing.
benama
Except that he's talking about your friends hating you which was the issue with the Bush/Cheney Admin and what the Neocons and their apologists fail to mention when their harping on about Al Qaeda. Your enemies will always hate you but you have to realise your doing something wrong if your friends hate you too.
nb-moe
You got it "benema"!!! I'm from Canada and most of us here never hated Americans, we just hated the Government. But....know we love both! There are so many good people down there......from both political parties.
idicula1979
This pole translates to soft power and it is much more valuable then the hard power of the Bush administration.
nb-moe
95 % of the comments are not even related to the article? It's just a punch of whining.
Anyways.....whoever did these studies to find this out must from obviousville!
mcmchugh99
I actually agree with the Republicans that the rest of the world is happier to see us as a weaker and meeker country instead of the hegemonic global superpower that is always bossing everyone else around. We are no longer strong enough for that, anyway.
Unlike the Republicans, I am glad that we are weaker, and just acting like one power among many. I don't believe we should go back into isolationism, but we do need to spend a lot more time dealing with our social and economic problems at home, and stop trying to remake the whole world in our own image or impose all that free trade/free market crap on them.
AlanD2
And our first step should be to get out of the two unwinnable wars we are in.
Ozone69
We already won both of them. We just don't know when or how to leave.
AngryJ
Ozone69 - I think you have a good point. Exiting is much harder than entering...at least if we want to do it right.
bcaldwell
Yeah we already won Iraq, Now we have to man up and understand that in order to win Afghanistan we are going to have to get ugly - so we can get out.
AlanD2
bcaldwell: If we've won in Iraq, why do we have so many soldiers there, and why are they still getting killed?
WestVillager
It's clear we're no longer a hegemony, regardless of who's in charge or what the French think As long as the rest of the world worships our culture and trades on our currency we will have influence. That won't last forever, so better to think about how to prosper in that global economy.
diamondgirl
mcmchugh, I am sure the rest of the world hated Bush, two wars, a lot of unnecessary deaths, but 911 turned this country upside down. Let's not forget what took us to the Middle East in the first place. As for being weak, when Bush came into office we were the weakest we ever were, Clinton and being afraid to kill Bin Laden, the bombing of the Cole, all these things made us weaker, then the towers. When a country is weak those are the things that happen to it. So be careful what you wish for, weakness is not always the best thing when you are the United States of America. Do you think the terrorists like us more now that Obama is in office? Didn't they just burn the flag yesterday, because they still hate us? Didn't N Korea just set off more bombs the other day? How about Iran, how do you like their brand new nuclear site? These are the people we have to worry about. If Europe, Norway, doesn't like us, makes no difference to me at all.
kburlz
"Clinton and being afraid to kill Bin Laden."
That's rich. When he launched missles at Bin Laden, Gopers said he was just trying to distract us from Lewinskygate. When Bush was asked about getting Bin Laden he said he didn't even think about Bin Laden anymore.
benama
Except that he's talking about your friends hating you which was the issue with the Bush/Cheney Admin and what the Neocons and their apologists fail to mention when their harping on about Al Qaeda. Your enemies will always hate you but you have to realise your doing something wrong if your friends hate you too.
bcaldwell
Power wears this those who do not use it. Or in street parlance, if you don't wanna be punk, don't be a chump. If we are doing all this just so the Euro -trash and the sleaze from the Mid East will love us again, I say get meaner. 1) who else are the Euro-pussies gonna look to...the Russians???? Themselves? don't make me laugh, the Europeans would rather commit suicide rather than release any testosterone. 2)The oil sheikhs are gonna love us if we are weak? Remember if we are weak and we don't buy their oil, they are gonna hate us more..money makes the world go round.
McHugh, the US cannot afford to act like a France or even an India. We are a continental country with arguably the world's biggest economy and the most effective military. That places us heads and shoulders over these guys. To suggest we be more humble and look a little more inward denies the realities of the world- we cannot.
We're the guys that rebuild Europe - Marshall Plan. We rebuild Japan. We basically create the Chinese economy( Nixon's normalization and Carter's moves in that respect were huge). We lead and the others follow. In the end the Euro trash -and that's who we are talking about- actually love that we do ballsy things with our foreign policy. We do the dirty work that they don't have the gumption to. They don't take going into Bosnia seriously unless it was the US shouldering the majority of the burden. Kosovo- most of it was US airpower from carrier based planes and stuff out of Aviano, Italy. The rest of the NATO guys with the exception of the UK basically wrung their hands and said , "oh how terrible it's a moral outrage...someone do something."
Mike, we cannot afford to be pussies, we are indispensable. Who else can do what we do militarily? The Russians? Nope their navy is a Sunday Regatta compared to ours. The Chinese, please , they're a fishing fleet compared to ours. We have the power and we use it because in th end we and our allies benefit. The Euros get their six weeks of vacation and other generous social programs and a hedonistic decadent lifestyle along with opportunities in the new markets we create for them.
To be one of many? To be an equal operator with the likes of a Zimbabwe or a Venezuela- come on !!!!!
Grow a set Michael.
benama
Except that he's talking about your friends hating you which was the issue with the Bush/Cheney Admin and what the Neocons and their apologists fail to mention when their harping on about Al Qaeda. Your enemies will always hate you but you have to realise your doing something wrong if your friends hate you too.
PatriceFitz
"Power wears this those who do not use it."
benama
I don't know... If you're an American and the above is the extent to which you comprehend and express English I don't know what to say... Regardless of your bizarre message I just don't get what you are trying to say grammatically here - "Power wears this those who do not use it."
"Wears this..."? WTF is that supposed to mean?
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reardongalt
This is a great topic for the "country tag" next to our screennames. Seeing where each poster is from would be highly illuminating.
It would be like changing a camera to a high resolution lens. Really, how many people does the typical American know who hates America like mcmchugh and Alan and Rita. This board is full of them, and I don't know any personally.
I just talked to a friend of mine on Long Island. He's in the steel workers union. He works in NYC building skyscrapers. I haven't seen him in 20 years, and he still thinks exacly like I do.
What was it Glenn Beck used for one of his programs?: We Surround Them. Well that goes for "them" on the internet who aren't from here.
AngryJ
LOL, They love us, they really do! I didn't realize this was a popularity contest. Too bad the world isn't a high school, then maybe terrorists wouldn't keep trying to kill us. I wonder if our current status will help create world peace, or stop domestic violence, or maybe feed starving children somewhere?
kburlz
World politics are more like high school than you think. Maybe if the world likes us, less people will want to become terrorists, and more people will cooperate in helping us find them.
bcaldwell
Bad analogy, I had the student body president fearing me in high school. I was a captain of the football team and we were winning games. He was non factor as were the rest of the student council. Now, if the team and by extension, the school, were losing games I would have not been much of an influence. The lesson, if you are winning, they love you. If you are not winning, you are losing and you get treated like a punk.
benama
Again, forget world politics, your dearest and closest allies hated you. Is that not something to think about that Australians feared American bellicosity as much as Islamic radicalism. And before you go off about there being no equivalency with I'm sure valid points, what we feared in Australia was your ideology which appeared as radical and violent as the Islamists. Australia is not an overtly religious or vehemently political society and on the whole we look at the viciousness and arrogance of the Right wing in the U.S. as an inherently dangerous ideology. GWB believed in the coming of Armageddon FFS.
Desertpenguin
Yes, AngryJ, you are angry. Also, bitter, resentful, cynical, and mistrusting.
This is GWB's legacy, and the legacy of all republican presidents going back to and including Richard Nixon.
AngryJ
Angry yes, Bitter not really, Resentful hardly, Cynical definitely, and Mistrusting of Government...pretty close DP...
djenna8girl
as an australian with an american husband, i watched the inaugaration with tears in my eyes and I really hoped that this was a new beginning for america..... and i still have my fingers crossed for you guys....
WestVillager
Same for Australia after 11 years of Howard.
djenna8girl
OMG i will never, ever understand how he managed to keep getting re-elected - i mean i know it was because he kept handing out hundreds of millions to the middle class at election time, but i dont understand how an extra 10 bucks in your pocket compensates for having a rodent for PM
tenderlung
Amen.
djenna8girl: Howard's re-elections had more to do with a lack of viable opposition than any particular loyalty toward the Liberal party. For most of my life the Labour party were bouncing between leaders, most of whom had questionable ties to shady unions or a general lack of qualification. Until KRudd came up against Howard in the 2007 election I and most of my friends had voted Greens at every election, hoping that their presence in the government would at least help to bring a progressive voice to the government.
neverlate
The real issue for me is not how much the world "loves" us, but why in the hell did GWB go out of his way to make them hate us? I think Obama needs to be measured on how well he conducts foreign policy and protects american interest, not on how many French men think he is cool.
Ozone69
I would hope that President Obama will maintain some of the more important priorities of the Bush administration. Mainly, keeping our country safe from terrorist attacks by aggressively pursuing and destroying their networks (wherever they may be) with or without other countries approval. It seems Bush's priotity was to keep out homeland safe while Obama's priority is to ensure that the world likes us. I'll take the former thank you.
AngryJ
Nicely put Ozone...
kburlz
If Obama's priority is not to keep us safe, why has he kept us safe for longer than Bush could?
penscott
The author makes the common mistake of confusing western Europe and the British Commonwealth nations with the world.
The Chinese, the Russians, the Indians, the Latin Americans are not exactly swooning about America since Obama got elected.
Jinglebob
This is just great! Now Obama has to take the blame for all his mistakes and not try and pin them on Bush.
eurydice9276
Oh, too bad. I was really looking forward to having diminished expectations - to slouching around in my ratty bathrobe without having to worry about bringing magic to the rest of the world.
MOZART
Democrats... walk softly and carry a big stick.
Republicans.. the bull crashes in the china shop.
nb-moe
Yes Mr Mozart......Maybe your half Black-Half White leader can find some grey area. Oh wait.....he just did...today....Yippie!
MOZART
This Nobel Peace Award given to our President, Barack Obama, is further unhinging the Lunatic Fringe, including Mr. oh-so-angry (who gives a shit? here, ) who do not appear to accept the fact that ideas, tone and initiatives can change the direction of things, particularly talking and promoting diplomacy.
It's an honor for any fellow American to win this prize, for whatever reason. Your head exploding just because you do not like Barack Obama is really silly.
Ideas precede actions and yes, the pen is mightier than the sword so long as you speak softly but carry a big stick.
The nay-sayers about anything Obama-inspired are suffering from their own dose of 'shock and awe' which George Bush inflicted on them.
Their ears are still ringing so that they cannot hear the winds of desirable change that are wisping through the world.
Remember the GREAT AWARD Bush gave himself when he declared, in full regalia, from the deck of the destroyer "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED". Yeah, right.. eight yers later we arre still cleaning up his "mission"
The incessant drums of warmongering continue to distort their hearing.
Morons refuse to hear the President's response, much less the reasons cited by the Nobel Committee itself for bestowing and accepting this award.
President Obama was humble, and expressly inclusive for individuals in the world who seek peace and tolerance despite the obstacles.
He even went so far as to say he didn't feel he deserved it but cited others anonymously, who do.
Get over it, conservatives. We know that you will never find anything agreeable about the current President of the United States.
Give it a rest... you are truly boring the hell out of the rest of us.I really like the way Morons congratulate each other on inane posts. LOL
ThinkAgain
Calling people morons is soooo intelligent and fresh? Talk about boring, you should read your own sophomoric posts sometime.
JohnnyAces
This coming to you from the fool who made the statement that "woman follow the herd when making decisions" in response to Olympia Snowe's Healthcare vote today.
ThinkAgain, how hypocritical is it for a male chauvanist like yourself to complain about name-calling?
nb-moe
I found MOZART the most interesting and intelligent post I've read...period. Bikering gets you now-where.
Right on Mozart!
bob808
penscott aptly wrote, "The author makes the common mistake of confusing western Europe and the British Commonwealth nations with the world."
The West is living within the delusion of 'post'-modernism, which, like most senescent conventional wisdoms, can't step outside of its own box and see how trivial changes in their assumptions are merely further advances in the overripe intellectual traditions of their age. Medieval Scholasticism is another example.
---The EU's historical timing contributes to this-- the resurgence of Europe's economic and political power in recent decades lend a cachet of novelty to what is a culmination of old ideas. The centralized systematizing of human affairs, and the pursuit of something like a world order of "reason" (without reflective awareness of how tendentiously constructed THAT notion is), along with other 'progressive' assumptions about what shape such a world should take, are only slightly scaled-back versions of the clumsier utopias of 'reason' in the late-19th- & early 20th-centuries that gave us a great deal of historical unpleasantness.
---Currently, the alternatives appear to be a kind of grass-roots vulgar ignorance or religious fundamentalism, but in the late Middle Ages, the alternatives to theocracy and inquisition appeared to be heresy and witchcraft... and then, the Renaissance happened.
---Paradigm shifts are at odds with extrapolations of the conventional wisdoms of the old paradigm. (Kuhn used the word, 'incommensurable.') Descartes established subjectivism in 1651 ("Meditations"), and the skepticism of our late age has plagued empiricism since at least 1740 (Hume's "Treatise"). The latter is built into empiricism, as Russell noted. It's built in because empiricism and the scientific method are practical epistemologies that yield only 'how-to" knowledge that is inadequate to inquiries into the nature of being and the human condition. Yet we keep flogging them, attempting to solve human problems by their means.
---A third alternative to conventional wisdom and fundamentalism is possible, though isn't yet available. So-called 'post'-modernism and its derivatives don't question the philosophical assumptions of modernity-- it only questions the surety of modernity's intellectual output, and leaves its essential metaphysical assumptions intact. It's 'radicalisms' are just unsettling implementations of the extremes of conventional wisdom, not revisions of it.
---Obama is comforting to the keepers of the conventional flame, because he possesses the manipulative skills to make people feel hopeful again about assumptions too deep to question without the exploding of heads. Looking in from the outside, it's appalling to see how transparent and explicit has been the surrender to lures of "inspiration,' 'hope,' and other feelings in the absence of anything substantively new. It's disheartening to see how he's just postponing the inevitable, and adding to the investment of the conventionals in their stale assumptions.
---The voices of the far right are wrong to interpret Obama's emptiness as a validation of their program. At best, they can derive some gratification in seeing the flaws of 'progressive' thinking laid out in their nakedness in the left's reliance on a tingling in their legs. But this is far from getting to the third alternative that's called for.
ThinkAgain
A friend of mine just got back from working in France for about a year. He said the French loved seeing the people yelling at our Town Halls, it didn't matter what they were yelling about. Mass protests are common, but not always articulate individuals facing politicians down face to face is uniquely American... but probably won't be for long.
TomSawyer
My goodness. You won, you won, you won. George W. bush is the EX-president. A new day has dawned. BE HAPPY!! I've never seen such a sad display in all my life. You would think that Democrats not only lost the election, but were being hunted by soccer moms armed with pitchforks.
Have a little fun. You're on top right now, it won't last long, it never does. Enjoy it while you can. There will be plenty of time for sneering at Republicans and conservatives when you're out again. Be happy, say joyful things, quit sitting around worrying about the vast Republican conspiracies you see all around you.
Last, admit that it is possible to disagree with the tone and direction of the Obama Presidency without being a six toed, trailer house living, swamp bred racist. President Obama is proposing the most radical makeover of America since the Great Depression. It's natural that a large portion of the population, particularly those who like the current America, are going to find fault with the President's proposed sweeping change. It ain't personal, it's business.
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