The Influence of the Tools of Liberalism and the Clash of Civilizations on Arabs’ Perceptions of the United States of America

Adopting the Tools of Liberalism and Clash of Civilizations theories of international
relations, this study examines the perceptions of 25,406 Arabs in 11 Arab countries as
expressed in an Arab Barometer survey exploring their perceptions of violence
against the United States, American citizens as “good,” President Donald Trump’s
foreign policy in the Middle East, increasing economic relations with the United
States, and welcoming U.S. foreign aid. As aspects of the Clash of Civilizations
theory, this study examines religiosity, religious ritual practices, and political
Islam and, as aspects of liberalism, this study explores the roles of online media as
well as perceptions about U.S. foreign aid in the prediction of the criterion
variables. The findings suggest that religious indicators, and aspects of the Clash of
Civilizations generally, were negative predictors of the perceptions, while social
media and motivations for U.S. foreign aid as aspects of liberalism, positively
predicted the perceptions. The study discusses the results in relation to
implications for policy makers.