The current issue of Foreign Policy has an article about the self-perception of Americans and how that affects interstate/inter-cultural relations. Here is the abstract (sorry, the article is not published on-line):

The Paradoxes of American Nationalism
Nationalism in the United States is defined not by notions of ethnic superiority but by a firm belief in the supremacy of U.S. democratic ideals. This rejection of Old World nationalism has created a dual paradox in the American psyche: First, although the United States is highly nationalistic, it doesn't see itself as such. Second, despite this nationalistic fervor, U.S. policymakers fail to appreciate the power of nationalism abroad. By Minxin Pei

Perhaps a more succinct summary (to the point of exaggeration) would be that Americans don't realize how much they are like the people of other countries.

The first concept that the author addresses in American perceptions of nationalism. Americans don't even recognize their nationalism, associating it with the evils of foreign states. The author insists that it is very much there, that it can be seen in all the rituals that have followed the Al- Quaeda attacks. She also claims that Americans tend to score among the highest in all indicators of nationalist sentiment.

The author compares American nationalism with those of other countries. She claims that they differ because American nationalism tends to be based more on democratic/civil values and accomplishments. Other nations tend to be based on ethnic identity and histories of national loss (great defeats.)

While a tend to agree with this in the greater sense, there are some exceptions, even some emotions, that I need to address. First, the countries with which she compares American nationalism are China and India. The types of things that make American nationalism different from the latter two are also typically found in French nationalism: civic rather than ethnic values, a body of citizens defined by rights rather than birth. (See Rogers Brubaker's books, even though I would not generally recommend him.) In the terms laid out by the author, American and French nationalism are the most similar to each other. I wouldn't even make much of the differences between America and Germany: even though German nationalism has a large ethnic component, it also has the Rechtstaat (state based on laws and their execution) that places it more clearly in the liberal tradition. Germany also has some advantages over America: the politics of Wiedergutmachung (literally "to make good again"--to reconcile and compensate--this refers to Germans attempts to understand the past crimes of their people, to purge those values, and to make amends to the victims) is an active process that Americans would not tolerate.

Someone out there, I am sure, is raising their hands trying to get a point in. The French are mostly Catholics, they aren't good to people who do not speak the language, they distrust non- white immigrants, and they have value their civilisation to the exclusion of all others. My response (borrowing from John Cougar Mellencamp): Ain't that America? (Except that it is mostly Protestant instead of Catholic.)

This leads to my second point: it is a big generalization to place American nationalism only in its civic values. It is too ideal. The US is a big place with lots of different people. There is lots of room for variation on how people perceive what nationalism is. Dr. Johnny Two-Cents brought up a similar point last week when he discussed to what the American Homeland could refer. Self- perception can be nuanced and complex, even fragmentary, in the US. I feel that Americans will invest nationalism with ethnic and religious meanings. It is hard to counter the perception that Americans are White Protestants. It is even harder to counter the perception that Americans are simple fo'ks with simple values. Furthermore, what counts as American can change from place to place as local characteristics are added. How many of you were encouraged to see Spanish missionaries as builder of the nations (as I was in my Californian childhood)? How many of you were told that everyone is "a little bit Irish" (I had never heard this until I moved to New England)? It makes a difference if one is taken to Plymouth Rock or Olvera Street on school trips.

The second point seems more obvious: Americans fail to see the ideological components of their beliefs.

Quickie on a Le Monde article:

I forgot to mention that Le Monde ran an article last week about the decline of Europe (it has since become inaccessible on the website unless you buy access to their archives.) The basic point is that the decline of the European states cannot be prevented be prevented, but it can be mitigated for a long time through the pooling of political, economic, and technical talents. Perhaps this is obvious. I bring it up to show that the European know what is happening to them. They have reached the end of their economic adaptability, a point which the US may reach soon as well.