zlacker

I've always been curious about this, as an American, and specifically as an American who experienced the 2016 US election results from Tokyo.

The US outputs a massive amount of media, news, and culture. But how much does it actually influence other countries, at the personal level?

I'd assume, in order of impact: (1) visa / immigration, (2) free trade deals, (3) sanctions, ?

Is there any truth to the "US sets world tone on climate change, etc"? It seems like even the smallest countries are more than happy to make their own choices (in their own best interests!) when the US isn't trying to compel a position.

>>ethbr0+(OP)
Where I am (israel), the influence is tremendous. And it's a shame. US media is so good at driving attention that american narratives which are very irrelevant to Israeli narratives take over completely. The alarmist style of discussion has permeated everywhere. We could see how a very media savvy politician like netanyahu adopted all the Trump manearisms and conspiracy talk the moment Trump came in power. It's very upsetting to watch as we parrot a failed sort of political discourse.

>>ethbr0+(OP)
I think most people outside the US don't actually care that much about US visa/immigration policies, and care more about US relations and influence over their own country/neighbors, and the occasional "wow this is crazy, only in the US!" observations.

>>ethbr0+(OP)
I remember my student housing in Europe delaying turning on the heating 1 winter, because of high oil prices.. then I thought, "God damn George W. Bush, I'm freezing because of his Iraq fuckery".

At the moment there's a xenophobia/refugee crisis in Europe, refugees that are escaping conflicts in e.g. Syria or Afghanistan. Arguably Syria isn't the fault of USA (although ISIS grew from the chaos of the Iraqi occupation), and the xenophobia has a bit to do with austerity politics of Merkel.

And then someone started bombing Yemen and now there's another proxy regional war there..

>>ethbr0+(OP)
I'm more interested in the collective psychology of a nation that voted Trump in to the US presidency. Also the individuals that constitute it.

Definitely looking less and less like the US sets the tone for much at all, but Australia and the USA have an important military alliance and we're part of the Five Eyes.

>>netsha+O4
The list of belligerents in the Yemeni civil war looks like an all-in brawl.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemeni_Civil_War_(2014%E2%80%9...

>>TheSpi+k5
Hah, if you ever figure out that collective psychology - please let me know. My family is something like 15 generations into being Americans in the south, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that we don't understand each other at all. In fact, I'm always amused at how commonly I encounter sentiment of "I don't understand the mindset of anyone who lives anywhere other than here or why they would live somewhere else" (with "here" being a region of approximately 15 counties in western part of North Carolina). Even my younger cousins, who have traveled a bit and lived their whole life with the internet have said the same.

I'm the odd-duck for having lived in Seattle for 5 years. But I eventually moved back of course - because if I'm being honest with myself: Even I don't understand the mindset of anyone who lives anywhere other than here or why they would live somewhere else.