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Uncouth Nation: Why Europe Dislikes America (The Public Square)
 
 

Uncouth Nation: Why Europe Dislikes America (The Public Square) (Hardcover)

by Andrei S. Markovits (Author) "Anti-Americanism is a particularly murky concept because it invariably merges antipathy toward what America does with what America is-or rather is projected to be in..." (more)
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 302 pages
  • Publisher: Princeton University Press (2 Jan 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0691122873
  • ISBN-13: 978-0691122878
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16 x 2.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 538,552 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
  • See Complete Table of Contents

Product Description

Review

In Uncouth Nation . . . the subject is the breadth and depth of the anti-Americanism that has swept Europe in recent years. . . . [A] book that promises to explain how Europe's aversion to the US has been catapulted into overdrive by George W. Bush's policies.
(Caroline Walsh Irish Times )

Andrei S. Markovitz unveils . . . the huge misconception, implied or actually believed around the world, that anti-Americanism is something new. He uses a subtle example to demonstrate that it is the opposite: a malignant growth as old as the hills.
(Bogdan Kipling Chronicle Herald )

Andrei S. Markovits sensibly distinguishes between disapproval of the United States for what it does and dislike of the United States for what it is. . . . In a fascinating twist, Markovits highlights the gradual transformation of European anti-Americanism after the Second World War from an ideology of the discredited right to one of the anti-imperialist left. . . . The book offers a great deal of convincing evidence for these assertions, some of it based on survey research, but most of it based on Markovits's deep familiarity with Europe's left-wing scene.
(Jeffrey Kopstein The Globe and Mail )

Markovits documents his arguments extensively, and though he makes his leftist leanings clear, his research convinces him that anti-Americanism isn't about policy but about essence, which precedes it.
(Library Journal )

Markovits performs a valuable service. If you wonder where the U.S.-European relationship is heading, Uncouth Nation is a book well-worth reading.
(Sasha Abramsky American Prospect )

The resentment of the United States, [Markovits] shows, has spread far beyond politics, penetrating deep into the pores of everyday European life. . . . In an argument Democrats in particular need to hear, Markovits concludes soberly that European hostility is unlikely to be substantially abated in a post-Bush America because Europe's animosities will remain central to both combating globalization and creating a European identity. Until now, European anti-Americanism has not had widespread consequences. As a practical matter, Europeans have needed to compartmentalize their feelings. But that can change.
(Fred Siegel Blueprint Magazine )

Markovits's analysis and discussion of post-1991 and particularly post-9/11 European anti-Americanism is convincing and disturbing. . . . Uncouth Nation admirably fulfills the mandate of the new Public Square series published by Princeton University Press, which produces scholarly political books that are intended to foster public discussion and debate.
(Diane N. Labrosse Montreal Gazette )

The point underlying this rich and sophisticated book is exactly that, like all other anti-isms, European anti-Americanism reflects a set of prejudices that have more to do with Europe's own problems than with America's.... It is...an invitation to Europe to look more deeply into itself in order to build on solid foundations that new European identity that European elites and masses alike rightly seem so impatient to give birth to... [T]he arguments of the book...should be read and appreciated.
(Emiliano Alessandri International Spectator )

Markovits' stellar, finely researched and written account will take its place in the emergent canon of important works by other prominent intellectuals on the phenomenon of anti-Americanism. . . . Markovits deserves praise and support for daring to take on the topic of anti-Americanism, for challenging the orthodoxy of anti-Americanism and exposing its irrationality, cultural essentialism, and raw reductionisms. . . . The real value of Markovits' book lies . . . in its appeal to thinking and reflective people who have generally considered themselves left of center, but who no longer wish to hide their own prejudices. biases, and hypocrisy from themselves.
(Thomas Cushman Democratiya )

The point underlying this rich and sophisticated book is . . . that, like all other anti-isms, European anti- Americanism reflects a set of prejudices that have more to do with Europe's own problems than with America's. . . . The arguments of the book have been made and should be read and appreciated.
(Emiliano Alessandri International Spectator )


Review

In Uncouth Nation, Andrei Markovits provides deep insights into anti-Americanism in Europe today and delves into many of the facets that make the American-European relationship so unique. This book should be read and discussed!
(Joschka Fischer, former Foreign Minister of Germany; and Professor, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University )

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Anti-Americanism is a particularly murky concept because it invariably merges antipathy toward what America does with what America is-or rather is projected to be in the eyes of its beholders.1 Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Two faces of evil, 15 Dec 2007
By Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)   
Markovits provides an insightful analysis of anti-Americanism amongst the influential intellectual and political elites of Western Europe. It is interesting that this hatred of the USA exists on both sides of the political spectrum; the author points out how since the Second World War anti-Americanism has migrated from the traditionalist right to the left. Especially since the collapse of the Soviet Empire, the phenomenon has become ever more pronounced and prevalent in the mass media. Jean-Francois Revel had previously examined the nature of the beast in his excellent book Anti-Americanism.

Markovits argues that it has its own momentum and is not really fuelled by American actions; the attitude is used by the Eurocrats in an attempt to foster a type of pan-European patriotism. As such, it is a rather toxic glue to hold the EU together and not a firm foundation for the nascent superpower. It is clear that the phenomenon is harnessed to plaster the cracks in the wall and to obscure the very real problems faced by the old continent. Scapegoating can only work for a limited period where after the great majority of ordinary Europeans will wake up and smell the burning tires.

Markovits provides examples of the contradictory nature of European complaints against America, coming to the convincing conclusion that it is weirdly irrational and emotionally based. As evidence he charts the long history of the attitude that stretches back to the settlement of the Americas. One is tempted to laugh at the childishness of these early writers but for the fact that this is the same level of discourse encountered today throughout much of the European left-leaning media. See for example Can We Trust the BBC? by Robin Aitken.

Much of its manifestation may be irrational, silly and juvenile, but there is good reason to fear that a sinisterform of derangement underlie it. He devotes an entire chapter to the similarities between European anti-Americanism and resurgent Antisemitism. For example, in its migration from Right to Left, its evil twin Antisemitism has moved with it. The Resurgence of Anti-semitism by Bernard Harrison provides a brilliant exploration and analyses of the new Antisemitism under the mask of Anti-Zionism on the European Liberal Left.

The author is alarmed that this demonization of Israel is not restricted to the Hard Left but very common amongst social democrats and environmentalists too. He believes anti-Americanism and anti-Zionism are inseparable, growing side by side in Western Europe, rooted in the same angst and resentments. Politicians like Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schoeder have exploited this sentiment for their own benefits. Although Sarkozy and Merkel are admirable friends of the USA, they may just prove to be the exception as these attitudes are deeply ingrained in the Euro elites.

The author observes that anti-Zionism is openly Antisemitic in some instances but in the larger context it serves as a respectable vehicle and protective cloak for Antisemitism. Old Europe is undoubtedly in deep trouble. I recommend that Uncouth Nation be read in conjunction with those books dealing with Europe's decline, like Menace in Europe by Claire Berlinski, Londonistan by Melanie Phillips, While Europe Slept by Bruce Bawer, The Force of Reason by the late Oriana Fallaci and The Last Days of Europe: Epitaph for an Old Continent by Walter Laqueur.

Whilst the Eurocracy is now militantly secularist, I don't rule out a return to religion by the people. The most disturbing scenario would be a repeat of the 1930s, by for example the embrace of a charismatic pan-European leader in the face of overwhelming crises like major terror attacks, instead of a return to classical liberal values. Part of the problem is, Europe does not have much of a principled Right, except perhaps the UK Tories and the libertarian parties of Scandinavia.

Oriana Fallaci compared the old Italian Right of the Risorgimento to a noble lady that committed suicide - an apt description of the senescent Christian Democrats that have accepted the tenets of welfarism and pan-Europeanism. Europe is not competing well in the globalised market and is still to a large extent in denial about the threat of terrorism. Now on the East, Europeans are faced with the rise of Putin's increasingly belligerent criminal state.

I just cannot see the entire behemoth of 27 states uniting, rather, I suspect, a core group might form that includes Germany, France, the Benelux countries, Italy and some other Central European states. The rest might retain some autonomy but be closely integrated economically. Markovits is under no illusion about the possibility of a Democrat administration diminishing European anti-Americanism. It will make no difference at all, since it's an emotional condition and is gathering momentum. In addition to this superb work by Markovits, I recommend What's Left? by Nick Cohen and Hating America: A History by Barry Rubin.
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4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The most detailed work on the subject to date, 1 Jul 2007
By M. McManus - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This book is a detailed analysis of anti-Americanism in Europe, a subject that few people have analysed in any depth. The most we have had until now are passing references in books on radical Islam in Europe. This book is a detailed, scholastic analysis by an American academic.

The book essentially examines three things. Firstly, that the US is being used a bogey man by the EU elites, with any and all possible vices attached to it. Indeed, any negative development in European society is often blamed on the US or on "globalisation", which is often code for the USA. This attitude is particularly pronounced in the European media. The author even suggests that the anti-American card is often played by the EU elites as a means of uniting Europeans in their hatred of America, and thus creating a pan-European identity based around anti-American stereotypes.

Secondly, the book examines how America is "damned if you do, damned if you don't" when it comes to the European public, a recurrent theme in the book. If America does something good, it is dismissed as a cynical gesture aimed at ingratiating people before a demand. If America does not do something nice, it is scolded for not acting. It is therefore clear that America cannot win as far as winning approval from the European's is concerned.

Finally, the book examines the link between anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism in Europe, a connection few would initially make, but one that the author clearly illustrates. He notes that particularly on the European left, Israel and the US are seen as two sides of the same coin, and thus they are often abused continuously and interchangeably. The author makes the controversial statement that much of the anti-Israel criticism in Europe is little more than the continent's latent anti-Semitism re-emerging in camouflaged form.

The book does have one or two weaknesses. Firstly, the author seems to feel he has to apologise for his views on certain topics, and this occasional timidness is a little disappointing, albeit not a major weakness. Secondly, the book is a little long, largely because of far too many examples of anti-Americanism being quoted. The author could be more concise and conclude that we "get the picture", but nevertheless we see examples of the same point he is trying to make stated again and again.

All in all, the book is an excellent analysis of contemporary anti-Americanism, and is a must read for anyone interested in the relationship between Europe and America.
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