America's Reputation in the Age of Obama: Does it Depend on What the U.S. is or What it Does?, Fall 2009

Questions about America’s standing in the world have stimulated a number of studies. The most recent of these, based on the concern that America’s reputation in the world had “declined dramatically” in the past decade, was undertaken by a study group appointed by the American Political Science Association (APSA). This essay provides an overview of various dimensions and implications of this study. It also points out that recent evidence concerning public opinion in Turkey provides evidence that attitudes toward the United States are determined far more by what the U.S. represents than by what it does.