# Presentation: 216402

## Pro and Anti-Americanism in Sub Saharan Africa

**Devra Moehler**
- dcm37@cornell.edu

## Percentages of Pro-American and Anti-American Attitudes 

- * Urban samples.
- Source: Pew Research Center for People and the Press. 2002. “Global Attitudes Project 44-Nation Survey.”
- Question: “Please tell me if you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or very
-                    unfavorable opinion of the United States.”

## Percentages of Positive and Negative Opinions of U.S....

- Source: Pew Research Center for People and the Press. 2002. “Global Attitudes Project 44-Nation Survey.”

**Africa  **
**Other**

## Statistical Analysis of Pro-American Attitudes in Africa 

| 
 | Direction of  Estimated Effect | Standardized  Size of Estimated Effect |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Age | ▬ | 7.4 |  |
| Gender (male) | O |  |  |
| Rural | O |  |  |
| Wealth | + | 9.2 |  |
| Education | O |  |  |
| Knowledge | O |  |  |
| Watch intl. news | + | 7.9 |  |
| Television | + | 8.4 |  |
| Newspaper | O |  |  |
| Radio | ▬ | 7.7 |  |
| Internet user | ▬ | 8.4 |  |
| Contacts in U.S. | + | 5.6 |  |
| Traveled to U.S. | + | 5.3 |  |
| Muslim | ▬ | 27.6 |  |
| Catholic | + | 9.8 |  |

- Source: Pew Research Center for People and the Press. 2002. “Global Attitudes Project 44-Nation Survey.”

## Hypotheses about Pro-Americanism in Sub Saharan Africa

- The U.S. benefits from:
- 1) Africans’ lack of exposure to and knowledge of U.S. foreign policy;
- 2) its reputation as a land of opportunity;
- 3) the multiple cultural links between the U.S. & Africa;
- 4) its image an anti-colonial power;
- 5) the perception that America is a multi-racial society.

## Hypothesis 1Media Exposure and Knowledge of U.S. Policy

| 
 | Hypothesized Effect | Estimated Effect |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |  |
| Gender (male) | ▬ | O |  |
| Rural | + | O |  |
|  |  |  |  |
| Education | ▬ | O |  |
| Knowledge | ▬ | O |  |
| Watch intl. news | ▬ | + | X |
|  |  |  |  |
| Newspaper | ▬ | O |  |
|  |  |  |  |
| Internet user | ▬ | ▬ | √ |
| Contacts in U.S. | ▬ | + | X |
| Traveled to U.S. | ▬ | + | X |
|  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |

## Hypothesis 1 RevisedMedia Diversity and Critical Information Sources

| 
 | Hypothesized Effect | Estimated Effect |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |
| Education |  |  |  |
| Knowledge |  |  |  |
| Watch intl. news | + | + | √ |
| Television | + | + | √ |
| Newspaper | ▬ | O |  |
| Radio | ▬ | ▬ | √ |
| Internet user | ▬ | ▬ | √ |
| Contacts in U.S. | + | + | √ |
| Traveled to U.S. | + | + | √ |
|  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |

## Hypothesis 2The U.S. as the Land of Milk and Honey

| 
 | Hypothesized Effect | Estimated Effect |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Age | ▬ | ▬ | √ |
| Gender (male) | + | O |  |
| Rural | ▬ | O |  |
| Wealth | + | + | √ |
| Education | + |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |
| Watch intl. news | + | + | √ |
| Television | + | + | √ |
|  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |
| Internet user | + | ▬ | X |
| Contacts in U.S. | + | + | √ |
| Traveled to U.S. | + | + | √ |
|  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |

## Hypothesis 3The U.S. as a Cultural Icon

| 
 | Hypothesized Effect | Estimated Effect |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Age | ▬ | ▬ | √ |
|  |  |  |  |
| Rural | ▬ | O |  |
| Wealth | + | + | √ |
|  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |
| Watch intl. news | + | + | √ |
| Television | + | + | √ |
|  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |
| Internet user | + | ▬ | X |
| Contacts in U.S. | + | + | √ |
| Traveled to U.S. | + | + | √ |
| Muslim | ▬ | ▬ | √ |
|  |  |  |  |

## Hypothesis 4The U.S. as an Anti-Colonial Power

| 
 | Hypothesized Effect | Estimated Effect |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Age | + | ▬ | X |

## Approval Index (% positive minus % negative) for Britain, U.S., and France by Colonial History

- Source: PIPA. 2006. *BBC World Service Poll.* Program on International Policy Attitudes with GlobeScan

## Conclusions

- 1) Information by itself does not matter, but the biases of information sources do affect attitudes about the U.S.  The paucity of critical privately-owned media outlets in Africa, helps America’s image in the region.
- 2) The U.S. benefits from its image as a source of economic and political opportunity, as well as from its desirable popular culture. America is admired as ‘a land of milk, honey, Hollywood, and hip-hop’.
- 3) Despite America’s historical anti-colonial stance or multi-racial society, Africans favor their former colonial leaders in Europe over the US.

## end

## Slide 14