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America Against the World: How We Are Different and Why We Are Disliked
America's leading nonpartisan pollster shows how we are different--and how our exceptionalism feeds the rise in anti-Americanism
The precipitous rise in anti-Americanism is startling. To understand why the world has turned against the United States, the Pew Research Center, under the leadership of Andrew Kohut, has undertaken an unprecedented survey of world opinion--more than 91,000 respondents in fifty nations. In America Against the World , Kohut and Bruce Stokes unveil the sobering and surprising findings.
America's image is at a low ebb: where once it was considered the champion of democracy, America is now seen as a self-absorbed, militant hyperpower. More than 70 percent of non-Americans say that the world would be improved if America faced a rival military power, and about half the citizens of Lebanon, Jordan, and Morocco think that suicide attacks on Americans in Iraq are justified.
Where does this anti-Americanism come from? Kohut and Stokes find that what pushed the world away is American exceptionalism--our individualism and our go-it-alone attitude. And it doesn't help that Americans' pervasive religiosity and deep patriotism are often exaggerated by America's critics.
Former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright argues in her foreword that we cannot stop the spread of anti-Americanism without truly understanding who we are. America Against the World provides the insight to take that step.
The precipitous rise in anti-Americanism is startling. To understand why the world has turned against the United States, the Pew Research Center, under the leadership of Andrew Kohut, has undertaken an unprecedented survey of world opinion--more than 91,000 respondents in fifty nations. In America Against the World , Kohut and Bruce Stokes unveil the sobering and surprising findings.
America's image is at a low ebb: where once it was considered the champion of democracy, America is now seen as a self-absorbed, militant hyperpower. More than 70 percent of non-Americans say that the world would be improved if America faced a rival military power, and about half the citizens of Lebanon, Jordan, and Morocco think that suicide attacks on Americans in Iraq are justified.
Where does this anti-Americanism come from? Kohut and Stokes find that what pushed the world away is American exceptionalism--our individualism and our go-it-alone attitude. And it doesn't help that Americans' pervasive religiosity and deep patriotism are often exaggerated by America's critics.
Former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright argues in her foreword that we cannot stop the spread of anti-Americanism without truly understanding who we are. America Against the World provides the insight to take that step.
- GenresPoliticsNonfiction
288 pages, Hardcover
First published May 2, 2006
65 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 12, 2021
The title is quite misleading, because this analysis of world opinion surveys shows relatively small differences in attitudes between Americans and people in most other countries. The book sets out ambitiously, asking tough questions on the reasons behind a serious decline in respect for the United States over most of the planet. Building on the new wealth of world opinion polling data, it offers a solid data-based overview of the problem. Much of it involves detailed comparison of these surveys, done in a carefully non-partisan, social science manner. But this becomes mainly a quantitative comparison of differences, which are not really that big.
In the background Kohut and Stokes also discuss qualitative differences, but this requires citing opinions of individual people. And though these personal views are the least scientific, they are also the most thought-provoking parts of the book. Perhaps most of the opinions cited concern America's internal debate over primary values, and probably this is the most relevant thing of all. For example, former U.S. ambassador to China J. Stapleton Roy claims, "The American system of checks and balances is predicated on the notion that power is corrupting. And the same principle is viable in the international community. Being the sole superpower is a dangerous position for the United States to be in."
In the background Kohut and Stokes also discuss qualitative differences, but this requires citing opinions of individual people. And though these personal views are the least scientific, they are also the most thought-provoking parts of the book. Perhaps most of the opinions cited concern America's internal debate over primary values, and probably this is the most relevant thing of all. For example, former U.S. ambassador to China J. Stapleton Roy claims, "The American system of checks and balances is predicated on the notion that power is corrupting. And the same principle is viable in the international community. Being the sole superpower is a dangerous position for the United States to be in."
March 23, 2015
Nothing makes me happier than someone acknowledging the truth. I don't think it's just a George Bush thing though. America against the world takes a look at the how other people around the world view America. The term exceptionalism is broken down and it's very clear. However I do believe the author made excuses for why other countries (including Europe) sees America the way they see America. It's a very good read. It also makes you open your eyes to the fact people are not jealous of America, people are annoyed and tired of America's policies and self-proclaimed exceptionalism. America against world also brought up a question that I'm really interested in learning more about. Why is America so religious?
December 11, 2007
Interesting idea. The book has some interesting overarching themes and the only real payoff comes when they draw broad conclusions. The vast majority of the text however is just the author drilling down into the weeds of poll after poll after poll. An impressive body of work, but does not make for the most fascinating or enjoyable read.
September 20, 2024
I picked this book up at the book nook to see different countries opinions of the United States. Even though I read it in 2019 and it was dated in the 2000's it is still relevant in today's time. The opinions are mixed.
January 18, 2020
Interesting comparison using reliable sources and well thought out opinions. Despite a book written over ten years ago, it is still very relevant to the global community today.
July 2, 2023
The research is from a while back so I feel like it would be somewhat different now, but it offered a good look at the statistics, utilizing information gathered from people across the globe.
September 29, 2022
"America Against The World" is a book written by two math nerds (they're opinion pollsters) that compares the American "self-view" to the "self-view" of Europeans, Africans, and Asians. The argument being that the rest of the world "doesn't get" America and it'd be interesting to find out why (or even if it's true).
It's an interesting book that mostly rattles along at a fair old pace. Through its' chapters it points out that American religiosity makes them more like third world countries than their European neighbours for example. It also notes that every country thinks that they're better than everywhere else, but that American "exceptionalism" (which is the scientific word for thinking "we're the best") is more obvious because they're the sole super power (I mean, in the greater scheme of things who'll care if Lesotho thinks "We're it?").
The book, however, isn't perfect. First, it's written by math nerds, and it can read like it's written by maths guys in places. Don't get me wrong, I like math, but you wouldn't get an insurance instructor to write poetry for you would you? Secondly, it described American as the world's oldest democracy, which irritated me some. Now I like the Constitution and think the Bill of Rights is pretty neat, but the Americans had "founding fathers" that viewed African-Americans as "less" because they were black, and allowed the white population to own other members of the human race, which isn't very democratic to my mind (and is something that was wiped out in the UK much earlier).
Finally the book does a good job of how American is different, but doesn't explain why anything is as it is, in anything but the most simplistic terms. This irritated me because while you might argue that that isn't the point of the book, the why of difference is more important than the how, so I'd've like to have seen more work on that area.
It's an interesting book that mostly rattles along at a fair old pace. Through its' chapters it points out that American religiosity makes them more like third world countries than their European neighbours for example. It also notes that every country thinks that they're better than everywhere else, but that American "exceptionalism" (which is the scientific word for thinking "we're the best") is more obvious because they're the sole super power (I mean, in the greater scheme of things who'll care if Lesotho thinks "We're it?").
The book, however, isn't perfect. First, it's written by math nerds, and it can read like it's written by maths guys in places. Don't get me wrong, I like math, but you wouldn't get an insurance instructor to write poetry for you would you? Secondly, it described American as the world's oldest democracy, which irritated me some. Now I like the Constitution and think the Bill of Rights is pretty neat, but the Americans had "founding fathers" that viewed African-Americans as "less" because they were black, and allowed the white population to own other members of the human race, which isn't very democratic to my mind (and is something that was wiped out in the UK much earlier).
Finally the book does a good job of how American is different, but doesn't explain why anything is as it is, in anything but the most simplistic terms. This irritated me because while you might argue that that isn't the point of the book, the why of difference is more important than the how, so I'd've like to have seen more work on that area.
January 31, 2013
I had expected this book to be much better than it was. It makes some valuable points but overall it drew too many conclusion based on data that was too strongly skewed toward the developed world. Sadly, in many cases the book could just as easily been entitled American against Europe. To take one example, in the chapter on religiosity, the authors make a contrived nod toward views of the Middle East about religious motivation for the US war in Iraq. When it came time to quote statistics, however, the comparisons were all to European countries. The book drew the conclusion that Americans were exaggeratedly religious by comparison to the rest of the world. For someone who had lived in the Middle East for more than a decade and seen the central role religion plays in the lives of Middle Easterners (regardless of their particular faith) I was appalled. Further, I was a little irked at the authors seeming desire to win points with the academics of the time (2006) by being snarky about US policy.
April 30, 2015
Nothing makes me happier than someone acknowledging the truth. I don't think it's just a George Bush thing though. America against the world takes a look at the how other people around the world view America. The term exceptionalism is broken down and it's very clear. However I do believe the author made excuses for why other countries (including Europe) sees America the way they see America. It's a very good read. It also makes you open your eyes to the fact people are not jealous of America, people are annoyed and tired of America's policies and self-proclaimed exceptionalism. America against world also brought up a question that I'm really interested in learning more about. Why is America so religious?
January 6, 2010
Pretty interesting read on how citizens in other countries view America and how Americans see themselves. The authors don't take a position on either side of an issue; using Pew research data, they simply ask whether the idea of American Exceptionalism really meshes with world opinion on America. Do Americans really think they live in the best country in the world? Do Americans really care about spreading democracy?
Neat book, but it felt a little repetitive near the end, and thus boring by the time I finished.
Neat book, but it felt a little repetitive near the end, and thus boring by the time I finished.
August 20, 2007
Anyone wanting to gain understanding about America's relative position and acceptence in the world - both polictically and culturally - should read this book. Why do Europeans loathe Americans? American culture? Why are other countries now more desirable to immigrate to than America? And many other questions answered. This book provides in depth analysis of America's fall from "grace" with the rest of the world. Well worth the read, and a great companion to Joffe's book Uberpower.
June 6, 2008
Very interesting book that delves into how America and Americans are perceived by the rest of the world, primarily in the last decade. Particularly adept analysis of which perceptions hold up under further scrutiny and which do not.
I have to put this on the Skim shelf because I was unable to read every word or scrutinize every table. Excellent information though and a book to come back to.
I have to put this on the Skim shelf because I was unable to read every word or scrutinize every table. Excellent information though and a book to come back to.
February 15, 2008
This is a really good book. The title is misleading, because it makes the book seem like it has a political agenda. It doesn't. It is just an objective look at the similarities and differences between Americans and the rest of the world.
March 28, 2009
The authors' use of extensive polling data from all over the world guarantees this book to be very reliable and useful for gauging what others around the world think of Americans and how their values compare with ours. But it is rather dry reading as a result.
November 24, 2014
Just couldn't finish this one.
May 20, 2014
Huge sample, world wide, interesting and understandable conclusions
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews