Many people are talking about a variety of challenges Democratic president elect Barack Obama is going to tackle when he assumes office in the White House next January. Public opinion shows that reshaping American's image is one of the most pressing tasks.
Image can be explained as the character projected to the public, by a person or institution. It also can be understood as the opinion people have of a person, organization, product, etc. Or perhaps the way a person, organization etc seems to appear to the public as it is defined in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Therefore, national image should be the overall judgment and social appraisal made on a certain country by the general public both home and abroad. In another words, the national image is a kind of evaluation the international community has made on a certain country. This can be regarded as a comprehensive image with regard to a country's politics, diplomacy, internal affairs, leaders, officials, people, culture as well as history. As a result of this information being communicated there can be an implementation of policy.
In recent years, the Bush administration launched two wars, the war in Afghanistan and the war of Iraq in the name of anti-terror. Bush's decision caused a rise in military expenditure and heavy human casualties. The unilateral policy the US stubbornly pursued in handling international affairs dampened its global reputation.
What is the US' international image? The result came on Oct. 17 as eight world newspapers released an international survey showing general view on the US has been deteriorating since early this century. 75 percent of Frenchmen said they held negative view to the US since Bush took office in 2001. In Canada, people with the same opinion accounted for 77 percent, in Switzerland 86 percent and in Japan 62 percent. Terribly, many people have developed the feeling of fear instead of detest. Even the US' allies and countries which share the same social system, ideology and value have the same negative feeling, let alone the countries that have been suffering US sanctions, oppression and threat. For them, the feeling would be disgust and hatred.
Surveys in the US showed over 80 percent of Americans were not satisfied with the current situation and feel the country is on a wrong track. As Zbigniew Brzezinski, who served as US National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981, put it, the political status quo of the U.S. had dropped to the all-time low. The latest research in Georgetown University also showed spiritual leadership, decision-making and competitiveness have been questioned both home and abroad. If its international image and prestige are not improved, its leadership position will further decline and the control over international issues will further weaken.
Obama enjoys the ardent support of Americans as he initiates reform, and the pledge to “renew the nation's promises” he made has met with strong support from most American voters. Obama plans to withdraw US troops from Iraq within 16 months and handles international issues through diplomatic channels, allies as well as international organizations. The international community has great expectations for Obama, hoping him to pursue a diplomatic policy, to be all-inclusive and consultative on international problems such as financial crisis, global warming as well as terrorism.
The improvement and reshaping of US international image in the next four years depends not only on the uncertainty and complexity of international factors, but also largely on whether Obama can realize the promises he made during his presidential campaign.
By People's Daily Online
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