This paper explores the role of hostility perception in conflict and US-Muslim world relations in particular. After exploring perception’s role in conflict, the author proposes the hostility perception theory, which states that the perception that the other is hostile toward oneself or one’s own group, identity, or culture tends to exacerbate conflict and conflict behaviour. This happens through framing the lens through which actions are viewed, perpetuating self-fulfilling cycles of escalatory behaviour, and creating significant obstacles to problem-solving, relationship-building, and reconciliation. The paper subsequently analyses the role of hostility perception in US-Muslim world relations and the impact that reducing hostility perception can have in improving relations, using survey data and original fieldwork studies. The paper concludes that addressing hostility perception can play a key role in enabling understanding of parties’ real interests, needs, and goals;
relationship-building; and collaborative problem-solving to improve US-Muslim world relations, and makes recommendations for future analysis and intervention.