Publication Date
2012
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
Awad Halabi (Committee Member), Donna Schlagheck (Committee Member), Vaughn Shannon (Committee Chair)
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Abstract
The literature on anti-Americanism in the Middle East suggests that there is a strong relationship between US foreign policy and public attitudes of the United States in the region. This study analyzes Middle Eastern public opinion of the United States from 2002 until 2011, while using quantitative and qualitative analysis to determine whether US foreign policy in the Middle East correlates with approval levels of the United States. The purpose of this study was to determine if US foreign policy measures such as US support for oppressive regimes, US support for Israel, and US intervention in domestic affairs affects the way in which the average Middle Eastern publics view the United States. This study finds that there were quantitative and qualitative correlations between the three independent variables and anti-Americanism levels in the Middle East with the largest drop in approval of the US coming in 2003 after the US invasion of Iraq. The case of Lebanon's Cedar Revolution also shows an effective policy that can be applied to the regime changes caused by the "Arab Spring".
Page Count
207
Department or Program
Department of Political Science
Year Degree Awarded
2012
Copyright
Copyright 2012, all rights reserved. This open access ETD is published by Wright State University and OhioLINK.
