Font Size: a A A

A Study On The Global Waves Of Anti-Americanism In The Post-Cold War Era

Posted on:2009-04-25Degree:DoctorType:Dissertation
Country:ChinaCandidate:Q B WangFull Text:PDF
GTID:1116360272476138Subject:World History
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
After the cold war, the United State becomes the sole superpower and imposes unilateralism, power politics and its culture and values in the world affairs with no limitation. It arouses world-wide unprecedented various kinds of anti-America waves. Anti-Americanism becomes an international hot issue of increasing importance in the post-cold war era and a new focus in the academic field both in China and abroad in recent years. In this dissertation, guided by the whole world conception of history, the study on anti-Americanism is put under a long historical time. On this base, the definition and types of anti-Americanism, its historical evolution, its sources and its impacts on America are systematically examined.Chapter 1 The Definition and Types of Anti-AmericanismBased on the previews of various concepts of anti-Americanism defined by academia in China and abroad, anti-Americanism is redefined through the following three aspects: entities, contents and forms of anti-Americanism. The entities of anti-Americanism include individuals, non-state actors or governments of states outside the United States. The contents of anti-Americanism refer to the resistance, distortion, objection and attack against the U.S. and all it represents (including American government, its society, its cultural values, its products, its leaders, its citizens and typical targets such as the World Trade Building, American embassies and Mcdonald's, ect.). The forms of anti-Americanism include moods, speeches, behaviors and even diplomatic strategies of some countries. According to such a definition, resistances against American policies, against Iraq War and anti-America speeches and behaviors inside the U.S. should not be included. Besides, anti-Americanism is also classified by regions: the Middle East-Muslin World, the Latin America region, alliances of the U.S. and some other areas. Chapter 2 The Evolution of Anti-AmericanismAnti-Americanism is not a recently happened issue at all. On the contrary, it is a historical phenomenon even longer than the history of the U.S.. But in different historical periods, anti-Americanism is bestowed with different connotations. Basically, anti-Americanism has experienced five historical periods(the fifth period will be discussed in Chapter 3): in the 18th century, some Europeans tried to prove that the American continent is a degenerating and vicious land from the biological point of view; from 1800 to 1880, some European disdained the institutions and cultures of the United States, and derided the new country as culture hungriness; in the period from the end of the 19th century to the Second World War, anti-Americanism was beyond the scope of the Europe and extended to the other areas of the world. It turned to refer to the American colonizing expanding; in the cold-war period, initiated from the ideological point of view, the communism countries, some of the third world countries and the left wings of Europe involved in the fight against the American hegemony and in downing with the American imperialism.Chapter 3 The Global Waves of Anti-Americanism in the Post-Cold War EraAfter the cold war, anti-Americanism is globalized: from Baghdad to Havana, from Teheran to Paris, from Seoul to Cairo, more and more people get involved in the Anti-American activities with different moods. The September11 terrorist attack can be seen as an extreme anti-Americanism behavior. Many countries blamed the attack and showed their empathy toward the victims while some others crowed over it believing that the U.S. deserves it. Considering the regions, anti-Americanism is in a state of spreading globally, but mainly it is in a spontaneous form at the civilian level (including individuals and non-state actors). As far as the degrees of anti-Americanism are involved, the Middle East-Muslin World is the most intense area, and the Latin America area follows it. In some countries of these two areas, even the governments are involved. They are mainly against the American imperialism. In the alliances of the U.S. such as The Great Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Korea and Canada, although the countries share similar values and many common interests, but the people there still mercilessly show their disgust of the American imperialism and resistance against the Americanization. Anti-Americanism phenomenon is also shown more or less in some non-friend and non-enemy areas such as in China, Russia and Africa.Chapter 4 The Reasons for the Anti-Americanism in the Post-Cold War EraThe factors in the anti-Americanism are sophisticated. Focused on the post-cold war period, the reasons are analyzed at the levels of system, nation-states and individuals. At the system level, the unbalanced international structure, the negative impact of globalization and the centralization of power lead to the appeal for power balancing, and cause the U.S. the immediate target to release dissatisfaction. The excessive Americanization arouses the nationalists to fight for their own national cultures. This is the structural factor. At the nation-states level, the arrogant world views of the Americans, the imperialism policies of the U.S. and the spreading of its culture are the basic factors. In other words, the U.S. offends the interests of other countries and retort is unavoidable. Considering from other countries' view, because of the failure of self-development, nationalism factors, historical hatred with the U.S. and ect., governments of some countries and their people trigger on the U.S.. At the individual level, George W. Bush, the president of the U.S., who directly aroused the world's resentment. As for Bin Laden, the anti-American terrorist, and the common people, who are hurt by the American power and hence generate hatred and even revenge mood. These are the direct factors in anti-Americanism.Chapter 5 The Impacts of Anti-Americanism on the U.S. and the American CountermeasuresIn this chapter, impacts of anti-Americanism on the American politics, economy, culture and military, the American countermeasures and their effects are discussed. According to the different anti-Americanism waves world widely, the U.S. carries out different solutions respectively or comprehensively such as military attack and squeezability, economic sanction, democratic reform and export, public diplomacy and etc., to lessen, attack till dissolve the world-wide anti-Americanism waves. These countermeasures attack the anti-Americanism powers all over the world in a certain degree, but because the basic reasons for anti-Americanism are not solved, the countermeasures cannot eliminate anti-Americanism. As long as the U.S. remains the sole power in the world, and the imperialism policies are not to be given up, the dissatisfactions and hate from other countries will exist forever and even increase, and the U.S. will continue to deal with it painstakingly. So the new American Empire times is also "anti-Americanism times". But the "anti-Americanism times" cannot shake the hegemony position of the U.S., at least in a short period of time, for the motives and reasons for anti-Americanism in different countries are various, and the interests are also different. Hence, it can be predicted that an anti-Americanism alliance or unibus is hard to emerge and effects of the anti-American organizations or individuals' fight against the U.S. are quite limited.On a whole, since the end of the cold war, caused by various factors, the global anti-Americanism waves have been one after another, and the U.S. has paid and is still paying a lot for it. Although an anti-Americanism alliance cannot be formed at the nation-state level, the strong anti-Americanism waves at the folk level can still form a "soft balancing" which will have a certain restricting function on the abuse of the American power.
Keywords/Search Tags:anti-Americanism, the United States, hegemony, soft balancing
PDF Full Text Request
Related items