America Against the World: How We Are Different and Why We Are Disliked

Once you see the deep and diffuse roots of current anti-Americanism, you realize there won’t be an easy fix.–The New York Times Book Review

The rise of anti-Americanism is the most pressing challenge facing us. In America Against the World, Pew Research Center president Andrew Kohut and Bruce Stokes consider the surprising findings of Pew’s unprecedented survey of world opinion to understand why the world has turned against America: where once we were considered the champion of democracy, we are now seen as a militant hyperpower.

The answer: Americans’ go-it-alone attitudes have pushed the world away. From our business endeavors abroad to the Bush administration’s preemptive war policy, exceptional individualism–in particular, our belief in personal responsibility and our unclouded optimism–have encouraged the world to view the United States as a bully and a threat. 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 insights to take that step.