Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Tarnish U.S. Reputation Across Nine Asian Countries

Why This Matters

Racially motivated attacks against Asian Americans have surged in recent years. Inbok Rhee asks whether these domestic incidents shape how people abroad view the United States — a question with implications for U.S. reputation and soft power at a time when international perceptions influence diplomacy and global cooperation.

How the Study Tests It

Rhee uses a survey experiment conducted in nine Asian countries to measure the effect of exposure to information about anti-Asian hate crime incidents in the U.S. Respondents were randomly exposed to news-like information about hate crime incidents (and variants that mentioned legislative responses), and their attitudes toward the United States were measured across multiple dimensions.

What the Evidence Shows

• Exposure to hate-crime information produced sizable negative shifts in foreign attitudes toward the U.S.: a 10.1 percentage point increase in unfavorable views of the United States.
• Confidence in the United States dropped by 6.3 percentage points after exposure.
• Perceptions of American democracy fell by 6.5 percentage points; views of American ideas and customs fell by 11.0 percentage points; and impressions of the American people dropped by 11.8 percentage points.
• Information about legislative actions responding to hate crimes reduced these negative effects, indicating that government responses can blunt reputational damage.

Why Readers Should Care

The findings show that domestic incidents of racial violence do not stay domestic: they shape international publics' views of U.S. institutions, culture, and people. For policymakers and communicators, the results highlight that visible institutional responses can help repair reputation and mitigate losses in soft power abroad.

What This Adds to the Literature

By moving beyond domestic consequences, Rhee connects hate-crime dynamics to international reputation and public opinion in foreign countries, using an experimental design to establish causal effects on multiple dimensions of the American image.