Transatlantic Trends Survey, 2012

The aim of the Transatlantic Trends Survey 2012 was to identify the attitudes of the public in the United States, Russia and 13 European countries towards foreign policy issues and transatlantic issues. The Transatlantic Trends Survey is a continuation of the Worldviews 2002 survey undertaken by the German Marshall Fund and the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations. It is also part of the annual Transatlantic Trends Survey series undertaken by the German Marshall Fund and the Compagnia di San Paolo from 2003 to 2011. The 2012 survey queried respondents on topics such as whether the United States, the European Union, and Russia exert strong leadership in world affairs, opinions on certain countries or organizations and their relationships and cooperation, attitudes toward Sweden joining NATO, and the rise of China. Opinions were also collected on past and future military interventions in Middle Eastern countries, government spending, attitudes towards the euro, economics, and confidence in certain institutions of Russia. Several questions solicited views on politics and voting habits, including assessments of the current president of the United States and the upcoming presidential election. Additionally other questions included political party attachment and left-right political self-placement as well as voting intentions. Demographic and other background information includes age, gender, race, religious affiliation, education, occupation, the number of people in the household, type of locality, and region of residence.