Transatlantic Trends 2006

Opinions across Europe and the United States on various topics
pertaining to foreign policy and international relations. The primary
topics included: the state of relations between the European Union (EU)
and the United States, the George W. Bush Administration´s handling of
global affairs,) the functioning of the European Union (EU), the
relevance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), general
opinions on various countries, institutions, and population groups,
perception of potential international threats, China as an emerging
power, Iran and its pursuit of nuclear weapons, civil liberties and
national security, the compatibility of Islam and democracy, and the
role of the EU and the United States in establishing democracy.

Topics: Respondents were asked about relations between the United
States and Europe including whether it was desirable for the EU to
exert strong leadership in the world, whether they were in favor of the
United States exerting strong leadership in the world, whether
relations between the United States and Europe had improved or gotten
worse, and how relations between the United States and Europe regarding
security and diplomatic affairs should evolve in the future.
Respondents also were asked whether they approved or disapproved of the
way George W. Bush was handling international policies. There were
several questions that related to the functioning of the EU, such as
whether the EU should have its own foreign minister, whether military
or economic power is more important when dealing with international
problems, whether the EU should seek to strengthen its military power,
what effect Turkey´s membership would have on the EU, and how further
enlargement would change the EU´s role in world affairs and its ability
to promote peace and democracy. Respondents were questioned about the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and whether they believed
NATO was still essential to their country´s national security.
Respondents were asked to give their opinions on the following
countries, institutions, and population groups using a scale of 0 (very
cold, unfavorable feeling) to 100 (very warm, favorable feeling): the
United States, Russia, Israel, the European Union, Palestinians, Italy,
Turkey, China, Iran, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Spain.
Respondents were also asked about potential threats facing Europe and
the United States such as international terrorism, the inflow of
immigrants and refugees, Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, the spread of
diseases like avian flu, a major economic downturn, global warming, the
growing economic and military power of China, instability in Iraq, and
Islamic fundamentalism. Respondents were then asked if they perceived
these threats to be important in the next ten years. With respect to
Iran, respondents were asked whether action should be taken to prevent
it from obtaining nuclear weapons, what would be the best and worst
options for preventing Iran from obtaining them, whether military
action should be taken if diplomacy could not prevent Iran from
obtaining them, and which country or organization was best suited for
handling the issue of Iranian nuclear weapons. The survey contained a
series of questions relating to national security and civil liberties.
Opinions were sought on whether respondents would support the
government taking actions such as monitoring phone calls, Internet
communication, and banking transactions made by citizens, all in the
name of preventing terrorism. Questions were also asked about Islam and
democracy including whether the values of the two institutions were
compatible or not, and if there were problems, whether they existed in
Islam as a whole or just in certain Islamic groups. In addition,
respondents were asked if the EU and the United States should help
establish democracy in other countries, whether this help should be
dependent on whether or not the countries would be more likely to
oppose the EU and/or the United States, and whether the EU and United
States should monitor elections in new democracies, support independent
groups and political dissidents, impose political and/or economic
sanctions, or intervene militarily in order to establish democracy.
Finally, respondents were asked about their voting intentions for the
next elections and what factors they took into consideration when
deciding for which party to vote.

demography: gender, age, level of education, occupation, household
size, region, and ethnicity.