Status anxiety definitely exists at a political level. Many Iraqis were annoyed with the US essentially for reasons of status: for not showing them respect, for humiliating them.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
It's what the Iraqi people are going through right now. They have encountered a victorious, hostile force-but, you know, there they still are. There their culture is, there their history is, they're not going anywhere.
I think that whenever a nation feels itself to be at is zenith, it starts to feel a creeping sense of anxiety.
The Iraqi people are living better lives now than three year ago, no longer living in fear.
True conservatives fear anything that is at odds with the status quo, even to the extent of being unable to recognise when the status quo represents injustice. And reactionary conservatives actually want to tear down the gains of the past.
Many Americans, we know, are horrified by the posture of their government but seem to be helpless.
Donald Trump understands the anxiety and aspirations of the American people like no leader since Reagan.
Considering what Americans have been confronted with in the last ten years, domestically and internationally, it's clear that we need emotional outlets; we have to have some peace from our problems.
There is not a great sense that the Americans know what they are doing, or are making much progress in Iraq. And there is satisfaction in seeing that the Iraqis are successful in resisting the United States.
I think the American people have been surprised by the enthusiasm with which the Iraqis have taken to elections and politics.
I think the Iraqi people have shown extraordinary patience and courage in the last few months. They have really put a political system on the way to success, to a real democracy here.