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.