Global Media Perceptions of the United States

With the help of unique perspectives from across the world, Kamalipour weaves a powerful narrative on how President Trump’s distorted vision of the US and its policies has fragmented America and added to global insecurity. Providing a kaleidoscope of different shades of the American image in the rest of the world under Trump's presidency, the book is a must-read for both the scholars and practitioners of media, international relations, politics, culture, law, and psychology.

-- Fazal M. Malik, Dean of Humanities, Arts and Applied Sciences, Amity University Dubai

Yahya Kamalipour has brought together a host of international media scholars who reveal how the Trump brand has changed the image of American in the world today. Through scholarly discourse and analysis, the contributors to this powerful book begin by outlining the American perception of itself and its place in the world—and how everything changed when Donald J. Trump became a presidential candidate. From there, we are transported around the world to see, on the ground, how just a few years of Trump's leadership radically changed the world's view of the United States.

-- Phillip Auter, Hubert Bourgeois Endowed Professor of Communication, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

It will be years, maybe decades, before scholars have fully digested and demystified "the Trump effect." This book, the first to study the problem in an international comparative perspective, is an excellent beginning. Yahya Kamalipour and his stellar line-up of colleagues look through the prism of mediated perceptions which, after all, are the basis for the way citizens everywhere come to understand global politics.

-- Marc Raboy, Beaverbrook Professor Emeritus in Ethics, Media and Communications, McGill University

The presidency of Donald Trump, especially his unorthodox rise to power, leadership style, reliance upon populism, and unprecedented use of new media, generated voluminous scholarly research and debate. Kamalipour brings together 35 scholars from across the world to provide insights into how the "Trump effect" registered in various countries. In the foreword, Cees Hamelink argues that Trump is best seen as a bully and disrupter. Early chapters evaluate Trump's effect on Americans' perceptions of the international arena as expressed, for example, by increased embrace of isolationism and sense of threat from China, Iran, and other Middle Eastern countries. Later chapters examine, e.g., how particular countries' media ecosystems covered the Trump presidency. Contributing authors generally find a love-hate relationship in Trump media coverage, possibly reflecting larger social trends involving polarization. Also mentioned are the delicate relationships respective countries maintain with the US. Notably, despite the common focus on media, varied methodological approaches are employed, and the specific questions addressed differ substantially. The result is a robust treatment overall, providing rich context for readers curious about how other countries covered the Trump presidency. Most significantly, the book may stimulate new lines of inquiry among those already interested in this critical topic. Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals. General readers.

* Choi