Hostile Neighbors: China vs. Japan
Reflecting a history marked with strife, neighboring powers China and Japan view each other with disdain, disagree on the past and worry about the future.
How Asia-Pacific Publics See Each Other and Their National Leaders
Despite historical and territorial frictions, people in Asia-Pacific countries tend to view their neighbors in a positive light. But they express limited confidence in the region’s most prominent national leaders.
Legacy of WWII Still Evident in German and Japanese Public Opinion and Relevant Today in Dealing with Russia and China
As the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and the Japanese surrender ending World War II approaches the publics of former enemy nations have unresolved views of their country’s involvement in the largest military conflict in history.
Climate Change Seen as Top Global Threat
People in many countries around the world, particularly in Latin America and Africa, list climate change as a top worry. Americans, Europeans and Middle Easterners, however, most frequently cite ISIS as their top threat.
NATO Publics Blame Russia for Ukrainian Crisis, but Reluctant to Provide Military Aid
Publics of key NATO member nations blame Russia for the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, but few support sending arms to Ukraine. And half of Russians see NATO as a military threat, while Ukrainians favor joining NATO.
2015 U.S.-Japan Survey Presentation
This presentation of findings from a survey conducted in the U.S. and Japan examines American and Japanese attitudes toward each other and their allies 70 years after the end of World War II.
Americans, Japanese: Mutual Respect 70 Years After the End of WWII
Adversaries in World War II, fierce economic competitors in the 1980s and early 1990s, Americans and Japanese nonetheless share a deep mutual respect.
Mounting Pessimism about Two-State Israeli-Palestinian Solution
In the wake of yet another breakdown in the Middle East peace process, publics in the region have little faith that a way can be found for Israel and an independent Palestinian state to coexist peacefully with each other. Majorities or pluralities in countries across the region voice the view that peaceful coexistence is not […]
Does public care about UN blessing over Syria?
In the debate over whether the United States and one or more of its NATO allies should launch a military strike against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over its alleged use of chemical weapons, much has been made of the need for multilateral sanction for such an effort, either by the U.N. Security Council or NATO.
Despite Their Wide Differences, Many Israelis and Palestinians Want Bigger Role for Obama in Resolving Conflict
Survey Report Israelis and Palestinians differ widely in their outlook for a peaceful resolution of their longstanding conflict and in their views about the United States. But both want U.S. President Barack Obama to play a larger role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate. Israelis, on balance, believe a way can be found for an independent […]
Little International Support for Arming Syria Rebels
Growing evidence that the Syrian government may have used chemical weapons against its own people has led to demands for the U.S. to intervene in the Syrian civil war. As American pundits and politicians call for intervention, however merited or unjustified those appeals may be on humanitarian grounds, such pleas have yet to rally majority support for such action in America, Europe or the Middle East.
Widespread Middle East Fears that Syrian Violence Will Spread
Survey Report As concern mounts about the Syrian government’s possible use of chemical weapons against its own people, publics in the Middle East – especially the Lebanese – are extremely worried about violence spreading to neighboring countries. Nonetheless, a new survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted before news emerged of alleged use of chemical […]
2013: A Fateful Year
The year ahead promises both challenges and opportunities for transatlantic relations. The next 12 months could prove to be consequential for both security and economic ties between Europe and the United States.
What Americans Want in 2013
In 2013, downbeat domestic attitudes coupled with reticence about international engagement poses challenges for a world that still may need a strong United States.
Obama’s Middle East Problem
While global publics largely take a positive view of President Obama, he receives his lowest marks on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – and his ratings are especially poor in the Arab nations of the Middle East.
Americans and Western Europeans Agree on Afghanistan-Pakistan Extremist Threat
Americans and Western Europeans agree on the extremist threat from Afghanistan and Pakistan, but divisions remain over the Afghan war
Few in NATO Support Call For Additional Forces in Afghanistan
Troop increases may face considerable opposition in many NATO countries, which were opposed to Obama?s original call for more forces
Ideological Gaps Over Israel on Both Sides of Atlantic
The American public has long expressed strong support for Israel. In a survey conducted earlier this month during the conflict in the Gaza Strip, 49% of Americans said they sympathized more with Israel in its dispute with the Palestinians, while just 11% sympathized more with the Palestinians and 15% said they sympathized with neither side. […]
Before Israel’s Invasion, Hamas Popularity Was Waning Among Its Neighbors — Even in Gaza Itself
by Richard Wike, Associate Director, Pew Global Attitudes Project In the Middle East and elsewhere, Muslim reaction to the Israeli offensive in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip has been swift and angry, with protests in Amman, Beirut, Istanbul, Tehran, Jakarta, and several other capitals. Palestinians in East Jerusalem and in the West Bank, where Hamas rival […]
Will Shared Concern about Iran Provide Common Ground for Middle East Negotiators in Annapolis?
Will Shared Concerns About Iran Promote Compromise?
Global Unease With Major World Powers
A 47-nation survey finds global public opinion increasingly wary of the world’s dominant nations and disapproving of their leaders. Anti-Americanism is extensive, as it has been for the past five years. At the same time, the image of China has slipped significantly among the publics of other major nations.
The U.S. Public’s Pro-Israel History
In Mid-East Conflicts, Americans Consistently Side with Israel
America’s Image Slips, But Allies Share U.S. Concerns Over Iran, Hamas
America’s global image has again slipped and support for the war on terrorism has declined even among close U.S. allies like Japan. The war in Iraq is a continuing drag on opinions of the United States, not only in predominantly Muslim countries but in Europe and Asia as well. And despite growing concern over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the U.S. presence in Iraq is cited at least as often as Iran – and in many countries much more often – as a danger to world peace.
A Year After Iraq War
A year after the war in Iraq, discontent with America and its policies has intensified rather than diminished. Opinion of the United States in France and Germany is at least as negative now as at the war’s conclusion, and British views are decidedly more critical. Perceptions of American unilateralism remain widespread in European and Muslim nations, and the war in Iraq has undermined America’s credibility abroad. Doubts about the motives behind the U.S.-led war on terrorism abound, and a growing percentage of Europeans want foreign policy and security arrangements independent from the United States. Across Europe, there is considerable support for the European Union to become as powerful as the United States.
Views of a Changing World 2003
The speed of the war in Iraq and the prevailing belief that the Iraqi people are better off as a result have modestly improved the image of America. But in most countries, opinions of the U.S. are markedly lower than they were a year ago.
America’s Image Further Erodes, Europeans Want Weaker Ties
Introduction and Summary Anti-war sentiment and disapproval of President Bush’s international policies continue to erode America’s image among the publics of its allies. U.S. favorability ratings have plummeted in the past six months in countries actively opposing war France, Germany and Russia as well as in countries that are part of the “coalition […]
What the World Thinks in 2002
Global Gloom and Growing Anti-Americanism Despite an initial outpouring of public sympathy for America following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, discontent with the United States has grown around the world over the past two years. Images of the U.S. have been tarnished in all types of nations: among longtime NATO allies, in developing […]
International Surveys: What We Are Finding
In the aftermath of Sept. 11, the Pew Research Center and several other major survey organizations have conducted a number of international polls. These surveys have been illuminating, showing a vast opinion gulf between the American public and people elsewhere. Yet they also reveal, surprisingly, the ways in which the United States is admired around […]
Americans and Europeans Differ Widely on Foreign Policy Issues
A multinational survey conducted in association with the International Herald Tribune and Council on Foreign Relations Europeans have a better opinion of President George W. Bush than they did before the Sept. 11 attacks, but they remain highly critical of the president, most of his policies, and what they see as his unilateral approach […]
