Friday, August 25, 2006

New research about how the Arab world sees United States policies

Here is a link to some counter-intuitive research findings about the Arab world's perceptions of US policies.
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy published at the end of July a paper entitled "
Assessing What Arabs Do, Not What They Say: A New Approach to Understanding Arab Anti-Americanism."
The authors examine protests in the Arab world against American policies over recent years and, according to the introduction, "show how regional animosity toward the United States and its policies is episodic and event-driven, with little evidence of a continually rising tide of popular hatred. Supported by detailed graphs, tables, and timelines, the paper urges policymakers to pay at least as much attention to Arab behavior as they do to potentially distorted and easily manipulated perceptions of Arab public opinion."
The research was of course conducted before the recent round of fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah, but looks to be of interest. The link below takes you to a summary, from which you can access the full paper.
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC04.php?CID=244