Poll Shows American Image Abroad DECLINING, Lack of Concern about Climate Change
 
A new study by the Pew Research Center reveals some striking observations about world public opinion on a range of global issues and about American image abroad. The study, conducted periodically since 2001 in 15 countries, analyzes public opinion on today’s most pressing global issues. The most recent report, released on June 13^th, displays deep concern throughout the international community about the impact of American actions abroad.

According to the results, American image abroad is on the decline, even in countries that are notable supporters of the U.S., namely India and Japan.

Eight of the countries surveyed showed a decline in the positive view of the U.S.  For example, Indian favorable opinion of the U.S. dropped from 71% to 56% in just one year.  This demonstrates a reversal of the previous year’s trend when anti-Americanism seemingly faded as a result of U.S. relief efforts to victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Despite the overall decline in America’s image abroad, the survey showed that the world public and the American public share common concerns about  global issues.  This trend is evident both in concerns about  Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the recent victory by the Hamas Party in Palestinian elections. A majority of the American public (74%), along with majorities in France, German, Great Britain, Russia, and Spain wish to stop the spread of nuclear weapons worldwide.  The U.S. needs to work together with other members of the global community in order to address these common concerns.   

Additionally, the survey revealed the extent of public awareness on global issues such as the bird flu and climate change. Across the board, of the 15 surveyed countries, public awareness of the bird flu disease did not drop below 82%, with 92% of the U.S. public aware.  In contrast, great disparity exists between the surveyed countries regarding public awareness of climate change. With nearly total awareness about climate change in industrialized countries (America, 91%), the lowest results are from predominantly Muslim countries, Pakistan (12%) and Indonesia (35%).

One of the study’s most alarming observations relates to public concern about climate change.  Only 19% of Americans polled say they care a great deal about the impacts of climate change. Likewise, only 20% of the Chinese public feels the same way. With the U.S. producing 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions and China well on its way to matching the U.S., it is disconcerting that these two countries have the lowest percentage of citizens who are worried about climate change.

Overall, a majority of the American public supports a strong and effective United Nations.  While polls vary from month to month, there is a general trend of Americans preferring a collaborative approach to U.S. foreign policy.  This recent study found that 51% of Americans hold a favorable opinion of the UN.

The U.S. has a unique opportunity to engage with the rest of the world on how to solve global issues ranging from nuclear proliferation to climate change.  The Pew poll reveals that only 29% of Americans say that they are satisfied with the state of U.S. foreign policy.  This presents even more evidence of the growing gap between what the public wants U.S. foreign policy to look like and what the policies actually are.  By working together with others and building political will within America, the U.S. can address the common concerns of the global community.

 + CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL RESULTS


Updated June 30, 2006

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