Global Views 2010: American Public Opinion and Foreign Policy

This study is part of a quadrennial series designed to investigate the opinions and attitudes of the general public on matters related to foreign policy, and to define the parameters of public opinion within which decision-makers must operate. This public opinion study of the United States focused on respondents' opinions of the United States' leadership role in the world and the challenges the country faces domestically and internationally. The survey covered the following international topics: relations with other countries, role in foreign affairs, possible threats to vital interests in the next ten years, foreign policy goals, benefits or drawbacks of globalization, situations that might justify the use of United States troops in other parts of the world, the number and location of United States military bases overseas, respondent feelings toward people of other countries, opinions on the influence of other countries in the world and how much influence those countries should have, whether there should be a global regulating body to prevent economic instability, international trade, United States participation in potential treaties, the United States' role in the United Nations and NATO, respondent opinions on international institutions and regulating bodies such as the United Nations, World Trade Organization, and the World Health Organization, whether the United States will continue to be the world's leading power in the next 50 years, democracy in the Middle East and South Korea, the role of the United Nations Security Council, which side the United States should take in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, what measures should be taken to deal with Iran's nuclear program, the military effort in Afghanistan, opinions on efforts to combat terrorism and the use of torture to extract information from prisoners, whether the respondent favors or opposes the government selling military equipment to other nations and using nuclear weapons in various circumstances, the economic development of China, and the conflict between North and South Korea. Domestic issues included economic prospects for American children when they become adults, funding for government programs, the fairness of the current distribution of income in the United States, the role of government, whether the government can be trusted to do what is right, climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, United States' dependence on foreign energy sources, drilling for oil and natural gas off the coast of the United States, and relations with Mexico including such issues as the ongoing drug war, as well as immigration and immigration reform. Demographic and other background information included age, gender, race/ethnicity, marital status, left-right political self-placement, political affiliation, employment status, highest level of education, and religious preference. Also included are household size and composition, whether the respondent is head of household, household income, housing type, ownership status of living quarters, household Internet access, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) status, and region and state of residence.

本研究系一项每四年举行一次的系列调查，旨在探究公众对于外交政策相关事务的看法与态度，并界定决策者在其中必须运作的公共舆论参数。此次针对美国的公众舆论调查聚焦于受访者对美国在世界中领导地位的看法，以及该国在国内和国际层面所面临的挑战。调查内容涵盖以下国际议题：与其他国家的关系、在外交事务中的角色、未来十年可能对核心利益构成威胁的因素、外交政策目标、全球化的利弊、可能合理使用美国军队的情境、海外军事基地的数量和位置、受访者对其他国家人民的情感、对其他国家在世界上的影响力及其应具有影响力的看法、是否应设立全球监管机构以预防经济不稳定、国际贸易、美国在潜在条约中的参与、美国在联合国和北约中的角色、受访者对联合国、世界贸易组织和世界卫生组织等国际机构和监管机构的看法，以及美国是否将继续在未来五十年内保持世界领先地位，中东和韩国的民主发展，联合国安全理事会的角色，美国在巴以冲突中应采取的立场，应对伊朗核计划应采取的措施，阿富汗的军事行动，对反恐努力及从囚犯中提取信息时使用酷刑的看法，受访者是否支持或反对政府向其他国家出售军事装备以及在各种情况下使用核武器，中国的经济发展以及南北朝鲜之间的冲突。国内议题包括美国儿童成年后的经济前景、政府项目的资金支持、美国当前收入分配的公平性、政府的作用、政府是否值得信赖去做正确的事、气候变化、温室气体排放、美国对外能源资源的依赖、在美国海岸线附近开采石油和天然气，以及与墨西哥的关系，包括持续的毒品战争、移民和移民改革等问题。人口统计及其他背景信息包括年龄、性别、种族/民族、婚姻状况、政治立场（左派或右派）、政治隶属、就业状况、最高教育水平，以及宗教偏好。还包括家庭规模和构成、受访者是否为户主、家庭收入、住房类型、居住空间的产权状况、家庭互联网接入情况、大都市统计区域（MSA）状态，以及居住区域和州。