?It seems to me that there?s almost universal opposition to the war throughout the world,? says Rashid Khalidi, professor of Middle East history and director of the Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago.
?There are a few exceptions: I think Britain, a couple of other countries, where support is over 50 percent,? he adds. ?But to the best of my knowledge there?s no region in the world where there is any pro-war feeling. Everywhere else it seems to be extremely unpopular or very unpopular, or at least a majority are against.?
In sub-Saharan Africa, where there are countries with sizeable Muslim populations, it is unpopular. Nonetheless outside of South Africa, there have been no large-scale demonstrations, even in nations like Nigeria that were rocked by deadly protests during the first Gulf War.
Ebere Onwudiwe, executive director of the Center for International Studies at Central State University in Ohio, says African governments have spoken out against the war, their populations generally sympathize with the Iraqi people but not to the point of anti-U.S. extremism. But Professor Onwudiwe cautions that if the war distracts the Bush Administration too much, its efforts in Africa will lag and it risks growing opposition.
?The United States still enjoys a very huge reservoir of good will in Africa as a result of these post-war investments they have made in Africa: helping out in the end of apartheid; promoting democratic transitions; helping free Africa from the chains of dictatorships,? he says. ?All of these things created a lot of good will for it. But it might be the case that the longevity of the war might become directly proportional to the rate of the diminishment of America?s store of good will in Africa.?
U.S. interests could also be hurt in Asia, where popular opinion opposes the war says Scott Kennedy, assistant professor of East Asian languages and culture at Indiana University.
?I do think that this is going to have a more long-term effect on U.S. security interests in the region,? he says. ?Because of the war and public opinion against the U.S., you see a greater discussion in Japan about the need to perhaps revise its constitution. There?s greater talk about the eventual need for nuclear weapons. And that would be a huge change.?
The most virulent anti-war and anti-U.S. protests have centered in the Middle East and Europe. Sidney Tarrow is professor of government at Cornell University. His work focuses on social movements and politics in Europe. He says Europeans are angered by what they see as the Bush Admininstration?s dismissal of internationalism.
?That comes as quite a shock, not only because we were after all the founders of the United Nations and its major supporters in the early years, but because we?ve supported a number of international initiatives over the past years, and particularly during the Clinton Administration,? Professor Tarrow says. ?So that the Bush Administration?s rejection of the International Criminal Court, the Kyoto Accords, the Strategic Disarmament Treaty, as well as the United Nations? majority view in the Iraq controversy, has taken Europeans much by surprise.?
But anti-Americanism comes and goes in Europe and elsewhere says Nile Gardiner, an analyst of Anglo-American security policy at Washington?s Heritage Foundation. He warns against overestimating this opposition.
?I think that levels of anti-Americanism vary tremendously from country to country. But I think the latest developments in Baghdad have completely vindicated the position of President Bush and also Prime Minister Blair on the Iraq question,? he says. ?But I imagine that we will see some sort of anti-American backlash in those nations that tried to keep Saddam Hussein in power, for example, France, Germany and Russia.?
Understandably, the war is a hot topic in the Middle East, where the public is vehemently opposed. Although leaders in this region have criticized the war publicly, Juan Cole, professor of Middle Eastern history at the University of Michigan, says many Arab leaders are tacitly cooperating with the United States. This has sparked anti-regime protests in Egypt and Jordan. Professor Cole doesn?t think this will seriously threaten either government.