American Public Opinion and U.S. Foreign Policy, 1990

This data collection is the 1990 version of a quadrennial study designed to investigate the opinions and attitudes of the general public and of a select group of opinion leaders (or elites) on matters relating to foreign policy. The primary objectives of this study were to define the parameters of public opinion within which decision makers must operate and to compare the attitudes of the general public with those of opinion leaders. For the purposes of this study, "opinion leaders" are defined as those who are in positions of leadership in government, academia, business and labor, the media, religious institutions, special interest groups, and private foreign policy organizations. Both general public and elite respondents were questioned regarding the biggest problems/foreign policy problems facing the United States today, spending levels for various federal government programs, the role of Congress in determining foreign policy, the impact of foreign policy on things such as prices and unemployment, economic aid to other nations, military aid/selling military equipment to other nations, the role of the United States in world affairs, the Bush administration's handling of various problems, government reactions to situations in Kuwait, Panama, and China, the importance of various countries to America's vital interests, possible threats/adversaries to the United States in coming years, and the use of United States military troops in other parts of the world. Other topics covered include the relative importance of several foreign policy goals, United States relations with the Soviet Union, Cuba, and Vietnam, NATO and keeping troops in western Europe, the military role of Japan and Germany, the economic unification of western Europe, the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, policy options to reduce dependence on foreign oil, the illegal drug problem, free trade, and the respondent's political party affiliation and the strength of that affiliation. In addition, general populace respondents were asked to indicate their level of political activity, how closely they followed news about several current issues and events, and to rate various foreign countries and American and foreign leaders on a feeling thermometer scale. Demographic characteristics such as religious preference, marital status, employment status, household composition, education, age, Hispanic origin, race, sex, and income also were gathered for these respondents.