The Roots of French and German Anti-Americanism

• Author: Valentin Filip
• Pages: 250-260

European Integration - Realities and Perspectives. Proceedings 2018

250

The Roots of French and German Anti-Americanism

Valentin Filip1

Abstract: After tСe Cold War and more specТfТcallв at tСe begТnnТng of tСe 21st centurв аe are аТtnessТng a

resurgence of AntТ-AmerТcanТsm Тn t Сe West. TСТs paper eбplores tСe orТgТns of AntТ-AmerТcan Тdeas and

dТscourse, arguТng t Сat tСeвgo beвond just a sТmple reactТon to varТous U.S. decТsТons and actТons on tСe

аorld stage. DraаТng upon constructТvТst tСeorТes and approacСes Тn tСe studвof ТnternatТonal relatТons tСat

put a premТum on tСe role of СeurТstТcs and Тdeas Тn ТnternatТonal polТtТcs, Тt attempts to uncover tСe cultural

substratum tСat lТes underneatС current crТtТcТsm orТented agaТnst tСe U.S., focusТng on t аo sТgnТfТcant actors

of tСe Euro-AtlantТc communТtв: Germanв and France, TСe maТn fТndТngs oftСТs СТstorТcal approacС

СТgСlТgСt tСe eбТstence of a negatТve cultural predТsposТtТon аСen consТderТng U.S. beСavТor and mere

eбТstence Тn tСe аorld. As sucС, AntТ-AmerТcanТsm generates cognТtТve bТases аСТcС are greatlв Тnflated due

totСe tecСnologТcal t ools avaТlable Тn tСe Т nformatТon era. Moreover, tСТs predТsposТtТon maв be

unТntentТonallв or аТllТnglв actТvated, gТven tСe ТncreasТng Тmpact of publТc opТnТon on tСe preferences of

democratТc states Тn tСe realm of Т nternatТonal relatТons. Hence, tСe studв maв be of use not just for researcС

dedТcated to СТstorв and ТnternatТonal relatТons, but also for academТc and decТsТon-makТng cТrcles Тnterested

Тnto ТnformatТon аarfare.

Keywords: AntТ-AmerТcanТsm; HТstorв of Ideas; ConstructТvТsm; Cultural InternatТonal RelatТons TСeory

1. Introduction

TСe European UnТon and tСe UnТted States are arguablв tСe most Тmportant poаers tСat sСape tСe

аorld: mТlТtarТlв, economТcallв, culturallв and polТtТcallв; albeТt a lack of fullв Тntegrated polТcТes and

processes on tСe European sТde, especТallв Тn tСe defense and securТtв areas. Most notablв, tСeв

constТtute tСe maТn core from аСere democracв emanated and spread around tСe аorld, as аell as tСe

creators and guarantors oftСe current ТnternatТonal sвstem, botС from a legal and ТnstТtutТonal

perspectТve. TСe Euro-AmerТcan or transatlantТc relatТons largelв defТne аorld polТtТcs, вet Тf tСe bonds

tСat tТe tСese actors togetСer start to crack, аСТcС Тs a tСesТs tСat Сas been advanced bв manв,

especТallв sТnce tСe end of tСe 20tС centurв, tСen Тt maв be tСat tСe West and consequentlв tСe аorld as

аe knoа Тt maв come toan end and democratТгatТon/аesternТгatТon, lackТng tСe nucleus tСat gave Тt

so mucС energв, maв fade aаaв lТttle bв lТttle. BuТldТng on Karl DeutscС defТnТtТon, a securТtв

communТtв Тs buТlt on “people bound bв common values, trust, mutual sвmpatСТes and a аe-feelТng”.

(KopsteТn, 2009, p. 367) As sucС, tСe verв eбТstence of tСe transatlantТc securТtв communТtв depends

on recТprocated feelТngs and belТefs on one anotСer of Тts constТtuent actors.

BuТldТng on semТnal аorks sucС as tСose of GraСam AllТson (1971), DanТel KaСneman and Amos

Tverskв (1974), Robert JervТs (1976), and RТcСard Ned Leboа (2008), tСТs researcС rejects tСe

complete understandТng ofаorld polТtТcs and decТsТon-makТng ТnТnternatТonal relatТons based

eбclusТvelв on a ratТonal cСoТce model. It eбplores Тnstead tСe cultural mТlТeu of Тnterstate ТnteractТons,

1 Lecturer , PhD., Tel.: 0722761020, Corresponding author: valentin_filip@yahoo.com.