A new international survey by the BritishBroadcasting Corp. (BBC) reveals that views of the United States around the world have"improved sharply" during the first year of the Obama presidency,with positive opinion outweighing negative for the first time since 2005, whenthe BBC first polled this question.
Whether the improvement helps him politically or notat home, Obama's popularity abroadand the contrast between his policies andthose of the preceding administrationwill enhance American influence andadvance American interests.
The BBC's findings, derived from a four-month surveythat reached nearly 30,000 people in 28 nations, clearly demonstrate thesignificance of what pollsters call the “Obama effect.”
In half of the nations surveyed, positive views ofthe United Stateshad fallen to a record-low average of 28% in 2007, from 38% in 2005, but beganto recover to 35% in 2009 and 40% this year. Of all 28 countries surveyedwhichranged from Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Italy and Portugal to Turkey, Pakistan,Indonesia and Chinaonly six now show a negative view of the United States,with two neutral and 20 favorable.
In a single year, since 2009, upbeat views of the United States rose by 21% in Germany and 18% in Russia;downbeat views dropped by 23% in Spain,14% in France and 10% in theUnited Kingdom,with the result that all three lean toward a positive view of the country.
In two of the countries surveyed, more than 50% werefound to have a negative view of the United Statesand those, unsurprisingly,were Pakistan and Turkey, where the war in Afghanistan is probably driving downour reputation. Around the world, however, the upward trend is unmistakable.
Diplomacy Vs. Raw Force
At a time of global economic dislocation, much ofwhich can fairly be blamed on American corporations and policies, suchrecuperation is remarkable. It is even more notable because world perceptionsof China and Russia aresimultaneously worsening. Americadid not always lag behind Europe in globalpopularity, as we do today. Our global economic and political influenceremained stronger than that of any other country in history through the end ofthe Bill Clinton presidency, despite the tension, cynicism and often lethalstupidity of the Cold War era.
Following the Sept. 11 attacks, that traditionalapproval was bolstered by a wave of international sympathy, extending even tosuch traditional adversaries as Cubaand Iran.But the good will that could have been harnessed in service of our bestpurposes was simply wasted by the Bush administration, whose invasion of Iraq, use oftorture and disregard for the rule of law inflicted grave damage on ourreputation.
But why should any of this matter to Americans, whohave long cultivated a reputation for disdaining world opinion? Why should wecare about "soft power" or "smart power," as such influenceis known in foreign-policy jargon, when we still maintain the most powerfularmed might ever known to humankind?
The answer is that we live in an increasinglyinterdependent world, where military force is almost never sufficient and oftenirrelevant to addressing the problems we confront. Whether seeking to reducethe threat of nuclear weapons and fissionable materials, erecting sanctionsagainst the mullahs in Iranor reducing the effects of climate change, we will find that reputation is atleast as important as raw power. Having squandered so much of our economicstrength in mindless war and wasteful speculation, we must rely on lenders andcustomers in other countries to rebuild.
Obama knows he cannot reach any of hisforeign-policy objectives without international cooperation. More important, heunderstands that the future of America'schildren is connected inextricably with that of their generation around theworld. Restoring a reciprocal esteem with the rest of humankinda deepaspiration of this country's founderswill benefit them for decades to come. Hedeserves great credit for the success he has achieved so far.
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