Anti-Western sentiment

Anti-Western sentiment is hostility or opposition toward Western countries, institutions, cultural influence, or political values. Its targets and justifications vary across historical and political contexts.

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Orientalism: A way of representing Eastern societies as fundamentally different from and inferior to the West. Critiques of Western power often contest the representations Orientalism helped normalize.
Anti-imperialism: Opposition to the political, economic, or cultural domination of one people or state by another. Many forms of anti-Western sentiment arise from opposition to Western imperial power.
Anti-colonialism: Opposition to colonial rule and the political, economic, and cultural systems that sustain it. It targets colonial domination specifically, while anti-Western sentiment can extend to unrelated Western influences.
Populism: A political approach that portrays society as divided between a virtuous people and a corrupt elite. Populist leaders can frame Western institutions as detached elites imposing unwanted values.
Decolonization: The process by which colonies gained independence and colonial systems were dismantled. Anti-colonial movements shaped opposition to Western rule and influence.
Cultural imperialism: The spread of one society’s cultural values and practices in ways that weaken others’ cultural autonomy. It names a common concern that Western media and consumer culture displace local traditions.
Westernization: The adoption of social, political, or cultural practices associated with Western societies. It describes a process that critics may resist, rather than the opposition itself.
Nationalism: A political principle that prioritizes a nation’s identity, interests, and self-government. Nationalist movements may present resistance to Western influence as defense of sovereignty.
Cold War: A geopolitical rivalry between the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies. Superpower competition made opposition to Western powers a central political alignment.
Anti-globalization movement: A diverse set of movements opposing aspects of economic and political globalization. Some participants link Western-led globalization to corporate power and unequal influence.