By now, most Americans have realized that the current administration does not allow international approval to have much, if any, effect on his policy decisions. The president and his advisors adopted a policy of unilateralism stance soon after taking residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and has not changed its course during the past five years. Whether it is the war in Iraq, hesitancy to enter the Darfur region or more recently refusing to the Kyoto Protocol, the United States has maintained its position as a conspicuously independent international force.
Proponents of Bush's chosen strategy have often argued that a 'go it alone' method is justified when the ideals of freedom and democracy are on the line. Countless speeches on domestic and international stages alike are have been, are, and will be chalked fully of references to these cherished principles.
Even in the face of plummeting presidential approval, armed service enlistment, and citizen confidence about the war, the administration adheres to its now-familiar justification — these actions are necessary in the pursuit of "democracy" and "freedom." In short, the administration believes and hopes to convey that an American agenda which achieves the realization of these sacred ideals on a global scale is justified, even necessary. However as a recent study by the Pew Research Center indicates, if the administrations utmost goal is to aid the expansion of democracy or encourage the growth of freedom, it may want to reconsider its target audience and its strategy for communicating with them.
The Pew poll's finding were, for the most part, unsurprising. Many European nations, including Great Britain, France, Spain and the Netherlands gave the United States a lowly 50% approval rating or less. With the lack of direction and success in Iraq and America's refusal to enter the Kyoto Protocol these nations are frustrated after being ignored and defied. The American report card also showed poor marks from neighboring Canada who are more likely to view Americans as "rude" and "violent" than any other nation surveyed.
However all this is old news, and as recent history has shown, will not have any effect on administration policy or American conduct on the international scale. What could and should change this unilateral trend appears not on the American report card but on that of China.
As Pew found, most countries now have a better opinion of China than they do the United States. This is absolutely shocking given that China still remains a mostly communist state with heavy restrictions on civil liberties and a severe limitations on citizen rights. This is a subtle but critical blow to the proliferation of democracy and freedom, but it has not registered on the administration's radar because it comes in the form of international opinion. One must begin to wonder how these meritorious ideals will be sold if the country which tries hardest to sell them is looked upon less favorably than a communist country that denies free access to the internet (thanks in part to agreements with American software countries like Microsoft and Cisco), prevents nearly all investigative journalism, and openly intimidates opposition political parties as well as civilian dissidents.
Had these findings appeared two decades ago in the Cold War era, these international views might have spurred major reshaping of international agenda or at least would have been the source for substantial dialogue on global policy. Now in the era of unilateralism, they will be labeled as simply another manifestation of unjustified bitterness from ungrateful and misdirected anti-American critics.
While I am not suggesting that this troubling development in international opinion will threaten the survival of established democracies where freedom is a secure and a valued part of political culture, it is unlikely it will aid the cause of furthering democracies in struggling, unsettled or oppressed regions of the world. If industrialized modern nations feel angry and disillusioned enough with U.S. policy to regard a tyrannical regime in higher esteem than a country which is supposedly pursuing the highest ideals, something needs to change.
The Pew survey indicated that America's image abroad spiked when it was involved in relief efforts following the 2004 East Asian tsunami and, in fact, has remained more positive in the East Asian region than throughout the rest of the world. In fact, in the fledgling democracy in Indonesia, citizens are twice as optimistic about the prospects for democracy than countries in the Middle East. These are the kind of benevolent, cooperative actions that can help rebuild the American image. While the world closely monitors the developments of the G-8 Summit this week in Scotland, America has a unique opportunity to extend a supportive hand.
Let's hope America's leaders will have the sense to shed some of our unilateralist policy and help the United States reclaim the credibility necessary to market the ideals on which we were founded.
Sarah Howard ([email protected]) will soon be a junior majoring in political science and journalism. The Pew "Global Attitudes Project" referenced in this column can be found at: http://pewglobal.org/
