ARAB SPRING PRODUCES THE WORST PERCEPTION SCORES

By Thomas Cromwell

Singapore ended the year by regaining the number one ranking in the East West Global Index 200. The small Asian city state has performed above all other countries in the index (started in 2008), which ranks the perception in major international media of the 193 members of the United Nations as well as seven unrecognized countries and major territories.

Among the events that boosted Singapore’s results were a general election, a presidential election and the grand opening of Universal Studios Singapore, all of which generated positive news. 

Malaysia finished second in the 2011 rankings thanks to two major sporting events that were held in the country, and a refugee deal signed with Australia. Kuwait finished in third position thanks to the 20th anniversary of their liberation from Iraq and the 50th anniversary of their independence from Great Britain.

South Korea ratified a free-trade deal with the United States and their naval special forces rescued a crew and their ship from Somali pirates which lead to its fourth place finish. The coverage that Ireland received from electing a new President and receiving visits from the Queen and President Obama led to a fifth place finish in the year-end standings. Canada, Hong Kong, the Czech Republic, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar all finished in the top ten for the year.

Perhaps ironically, the Arab Spring with its promise of political liberalization continued to generate a raft of low rankings for the countries which have experienced months of violence. Not surprisingly, the Syrian government’s brutal crackdown on its own citizens pushed that country into the bottom slot. And, as in recent years, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq kept those two countries at the bottom of the rankings, with scores of 199 and 198 respectively for 2011. They were followed at 197 by Yemen, which continues to see conflict between the president’s regime and the opposition.

Rounding out the bottom 10 were Somalia, in fifth-lowest place, followed by Pakistan, Iran, Libya, Mexico and Ukraine. In Mexico the drug-related drug violence continues to depress the scores, and in Ukraine continued political disruptions and conflicts delivered a low score.

The East West Nation Brand Perception Indexes are ordered by perception score, mention volume, and alphabetically. They are also organized by regional groupings. 

For the regional rankings, South Africa finished at the top of the African rankings (14th place worldwide). Jamaica topped the Caribbean region (24/200) and Costa Rica topped the Central American rankings (64/200). 

Another regular winner in the CIS and Central Asia, Kazakhstan (27/200), came in first again. Ireland (5/200) led the European region and Kuwait (3/200) led the Middle East/North African region. Canada (6/200) topped North America and New Zealand (11/200) topped the Oceania region. South America was led by Peru (26/200).

To see how a specific country has fared in 2011, look up the alphabetical index: http://www.eastwestcoms.com/global_alpha.htm. 

Thomas Cromwell is president of East West Communications and can be reached at tcromwell@eastwestcoms.com.