Defining Anti-Americanism
Scholars have developed, debated, and refined definitions of anti-
Americanism for decades. The earliest generation of scholars described
anti-Americanism in terms of actions or statements that involve sanctions
or attacks against the policy, society, culture, and values of the
United States (Tai et al. 1973; Rubinstein and Smith 1985). Another
generation conceptualized anti-Americanism as a prejudice, in which
views toward the United States were seen as immutable, irrational, and
even obsessive (Haseler 1986; Minogue 1986; Hollander 1992; Revel
2003; Berman 2004).
Americanism for decades. The earliest generation of scholars described
anti-Americanism in terms of actions or statements that involve sanctions
or attacks against the policy, society, culture, and values of the
United States (Tai et al. 1973; Rubinstein and Smith 1985). Another
generation conceptualized anti-Americanism as a prejudice, in which
views toward the United States were seen as immutable, irrational, and
even obsessive (Haseler 1986; Minogue 1986; Hollander 1992; Revel
2003; Berman 2004).
A more useful approach arises from a third wave of scholars who define
anti-Americanism as an attitude, based on how an individual identifi es
with the policies and values of the American people and US Government
over time (Kull and Ramsay 2001; Katzenstein and Keohane 2007;
Meunier 2007; Chiozza 2009). Among the architects of this definition,
the pioneering work of Peter J. Katzenstein and Robert O. Keohane
(2007) stands out. Katzenstein and Keohane conceptualize attitudes
toward the United States along a spectrum, ranging from opinion to bias,
with distrust in-between.
Opinion refers to an individual’s feelings toward the United States
(including its policies and values), based on how that person thinks about
America. Distrust entails not only an individual’s opinion, but also their
long-standing predispositions, based on past experiences. This provides
an overarching framework in how an individual shapes their thoughts and
opinions. Bias entails a predisposition whereby an individual’s thoughts
and feelings are hardened to the extent that they are deeply resistant, and
thus carry a fixed response.
Because the interplay of opinion, distrust, and bias changes based on
how an individual updates their beliefs, multiple attitudes toward the
United States can develop at the same time. As Katzenstein and Keohane
(2007) posit, there are at least four types of anti-Americanism: liberal
anti-Americanism (criticism of the United States for not living up to its ideals);
social anti-Americanism (value conflicts with the United States based on an
individual’ s sense of social order and justice); sovereign-nationalist anti-
Americanism (a political elite’s use of anti-Americanism to create a “rally
round the flag” effect and capitalize upon anti-American sentiments for
personal gain); and radical anti-Americanism (such as the terrorist attacks
on 9/11). Individuals can be anti-American in relative degrees along
different attitudinal dimensions: they may loathe US foreign policy in
the Middle East, for instance, but simultaneously believe in “ the American
Dream.” They may resent the spread of US culture overseas, but still
appreciate and consume American goods and services. In effect, the
phenomenon of anti-Americanism is so multifaceted and complex that
it may very well be a misnomer to say anti-Americanism in one nation
means the same thing as it does in another. The word itself holds a
plurality of meanings.
References
Berman, Russell A. 2004. Anti-Americanism in Europe: A Cultural Problem. Palo
Alto, CA: Hoover Institution Press.
Chiozza, Giacomo. 2009. Anti-Americanism and the American World Order. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Haseler, Stephen. 1986. Anti-Americanism: Steps on a Dangerous Path. Institute
for European Defence and Strategic Studies.
Hollander, Paul. 1992. Anti-Americanism: Critiques at Home and Abroad, 1965–
1990. Oxford University Press.
Katzenstein, Peter J. and Robert O. Keohane. 2007. “Varieties of Anti-
Americanism: A Framework for Analysis,” in P. J. Katzenstein and R. O.
Keohane (eds.), Anti-Americanisms in World Politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell
University Press.
Kull, Steven and Clay Ramsay. 2001. “The Myth of the Reactive Public:
American Public Attitudes on Military Fatalities in the Post-Cold War
Period,” in P. Everts and P. Isernia (eds.), Public Opinion and the
International Use of Force. New York, NY: Routledge.
Meunier, Sophie. 2007. “The Distinctiveness of French Anti-Americanism,” in
P. J. Kaztenstein and R. O. Keohane (eds.), Anti-Americanisms in World
Politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Minogue, Kenneth. 1986. “Anti-Americanism: A View from London.” The
National Interest 43–9.
Revel, Jean-François. 2003. Anti-Americanism. San Francisco, CA: Encounter
Books.
Rubinstein, Alvin Z. and Donald Smith. 1985. “Anti-Americanism: Anatomy of
a Phenomenon,” in A. Z. Rubinstein and D. Smith (eds.), Anti-Americanism
in the Third World. New York: Praeger.
a Phenomenon,” in A. Z. Rubinstein and D. Smith (eds.), Anti-Americanism
in the Third World. New York: Praeger.
Tai, Choong-Soo, Erick J. Peterson, and Ted Robert Gurr. 1973. “Internal
versus External Sources of Anti-Americanism: Two Comparative Studies.”
Journal of Conflict Resolution 17(3): 455–88.
