[Symposium:] Why Does the World Hate America?

Editors' Introduction:

In the 1970s, it was the so-called "Arab oil sheiks." In the 1980s, the Japanese. At the beginning of the 21^st century, the United States has become the world's chief bogeyman, the object of global spite.

To what extent is the sentiment a temporary reaction to the Bush Administration's perceived unilateralism? Or have more deep-seated resentments built up over time? Is this a love-hate relationship with America, a mixture of disgust and admiration? Does the hate relate to resentment of a perceived crass globetrotting American pop culture? Or is it tied to a growing disparity over national wealth and prosperity (and freedom)? Or to America's support for Israel?

Has resentment grown because the 1990s saw a global brain-drain to the United States of a lot of the world's best talent? Or is the resentment tied to America's overwhelming military superiority? Or to the President's relatively "black-and-white" approach to moral and ethical issues ("Axis of Evil")?

In the end, is there much the United States can do about this global attitude? Or is the hatred simply a cost of success? Is the hatred a useful diversion of foreign governments against political and economical failure back home? Or is America today in real serious trouble around the world?

As with most things in life, no one answers tells all. But is there one factor that dominates all others?