The United States and Europe have most of the same goals but disagree on how they should be achieved, three history professors said Tuesday in a panel discussion on European reactions to the 2004 presidential election.
They both favor the spread of democracy. However, the United States prefers the more drastic approach of removing a nondemocratic leader from office and replacing the current regime with democracy, while most of Europe favors changing the economic and social policies before installing democracy, Chris Thompson, associate professor of history, said.
The discussion, which was inspired by a successful discussion on relations between the United States and Europe last spring, covered three main areas of Europe and the Middle East and their feelings toward President George W. Bush and U.S. policy.
Thompson focused on France, Sergei Zhuk, assistant professor of history, discussed Russia and Ukraine, and Kevin Smith, associate professor of history, focused on the United States' policy toward the development of nuclear power in Iran.
The results of the U.S. presidential election of 2004 did not please many French politicians and citizens, Thompson said. They recognized it as the first election in decades that had been decided mainly on foreign policy issues and saw Bush's campaign as one based on fear.
"In that kind of [war] atmosphere, Americans would look for strong leadership," Thompson said.
Many French citizens perceived Bush as a unilateralist who believed in absolutes -- countries were either on the good side or the bad side of the "War on Terror," Thompson said. They saw Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry as someone who had extensive foreign policy experience, could admit his errors and would provide a new start for relations between Europe and America, Thompson said.
"If you would have polled the French public and politicians before the election, they would have strongly favored a Kerry victory," Thompson said.
He said the French believe Bush has changed his "War on Terror" to a war on tyranny with the intent of spreading democracy so he would not have to discuss the lack of weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq, the missing link between al-Qaida and former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein or the increased terror level worldwide.
"Eighty-four percent of French people believe it is not the role of the U.S. to promote and spread democracy," Thompson said.
Zhuk showed how Russians and Ukrainians felt about Bush through political cartoons from a Russian paper that compared Bush's policies to the advancement policies of Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler. Russians see Bush's military actions in Eastern Europe as anti-Slavic and anti-Christian, Zhuk said.
Ukrainians are suspicious of Bush's democracy since the elections, as well, Zhuk said. Their anti-American feelings are growing stronger from the influences of Western Europe, he said.
Smith recognized anti-American sentiments among Iranians, but countered them by saying that the Iranian government cannot be expected to get along with the U.S. government when it does not get along with its own people.
"Our government is more popular among enemy countries when their own government is unpopular," Smith said.
Iran also might have a skewed vision of events dealing with American because of its controlled media, he said.
It is necessary not to be too cynical when looking at American government, whether from the outside or inside, Smith said.
"It is important to maintain a balance between skepticism and cynicism," he said.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
