Interesting Survey

Commenter Edger at TalkLeft tipped me to this survey, the results of which seem to shatter the belief that the majority of Americans believe in American exceptionalism:

Two in three Americans say the United States should change the way it treats detainees at Guantanamo Bay as prescribed by the UN Commission on Human Rights. Americans generally support giving international courts broad authority to judge compliance with treaties and seven in ten reject the idea that the United States should receive exceptional treatment under such treaties.

These are some of the findings of a new nationwide poll conducted by WorldPublicOpinion.org and fielded by Knowledge Networks.

Respondents were told that the UN Commission on Human Rights has determined that the United States has violated international conventions at Guantanamo Bay by holding certain individuals for interrogation without charging them with a crime. Sixty-three percent said the United States should follow the Commission’s prescriptions and change this practice, while 30% said the United States should not.

A very large majority generally favors the idea of international adjudication of compliance with treaties. Seventy-six percent said that, “As a general rule, when the US enters into international agreements,” there should be “an independent international body, such as a court, to judge whether the parties are complying with the agreement.” The statement had bipartisan support: 66% of Republicans and 88% of Democrats.

Americans show little support for the idea that the United States should have a special exemption from the judgment of international bodies. For example, only 25% agreed that as a general rule US compliance with human rights treaties should never be “subject to the judgment of an international body,” while 69% thought the US should not claim a “special exception.” This included 63% of Republicans and 78% of Democrats.

I found this especially heartening:

The highest profile controversy over international adjudication in recent years has been about the United States’ refusal to participate in the International Criminal Court. Seventy-four percent favored US participation in the ICC. When respondents were asked a longer version of the question, which included the US government’s argument that “trumped-up charges may be brought against Americans, for example US soldiers who use force in the course of a peacekeeping operation.” support was only a bit lower at 68%. Support dropped further among Republican respondents. While 77% of Republicans approved in the simple version of the question, 52% were opposed in response to the question that highlighted US government objections.

It's alternately encouraging and depressing to see that the American people are thinking about these issues with far more clarity than our leaders. If one wants to fight anti-Americanism, one of the most effective ways to do so is put an end to the notion of American exceptionalism.

Comments

[boz]

I guess you define American exceptionalism differently than I do.

American exceptionalism does not and should not lead to the belief of "American infalibility", which seems to be what you are really arguing against. I have no problem supporting international institutions that could hold the US accountable while believing that America does and should hold an important (even "exceptional") place in the world system.

The tragedy of the current administration hasn't been that they believe America is exceptional, but that they believe America should not be accountable for its actions. If we are exceptional, then we should be the first to be held to account and the first to hold ourselves to higher standards that we hold others.

[quixote]

Great post, Randy. It certainly raises my hackles when other nations think they're God's gift to humanity, so I'm not sure why it's a surprise to some Americans that other people feel the same way about us. Glad to hear that there aren't as many such Americans as I'd feared! Some good news for a change.

[Randy Paul]

Boz,

Both are definitions of American exceptionalism.

I agree with what you wrote, by the way.