Can Humanitarianism Instill Good Will? American Tsunami Aid and Sri Lankan Reactions

One means of curbing anti-Americanism is to promote positive views of the United States and its people. The purpose of this study was to assess whether nearly a billion dollars pledged by the United States for tsunami aid instilled good will among Sri Lankans. Of 478 respondents, most considered both the American government (75%) and the American people (84%) to be generous. Half claimed that they liked the American people, a substantial increase over attitudes measured 2 years back, post-9/11. While fewer than half supported U.S. involvement in Iraq, the extent of this support increased significantly from post-9/11 levels, suggesting that humanitarian aid may result in broadened support for unrelated U.S. initiatives