Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

International Affairs

Topic Spotlight

  • Foreign Aid Support: About eight-in-ten Americans say the U.S. should provide humanitarian aid like medicine, food and clothing to developing nations. (Read the report)
  • International Engagement: Roughly half of Americans think it is best for the future of the country for the U.S. to be active in world affairs. (Read the report)
  • China Views: Negative views of China have softened slightly among Americans, the first such shift in five years. (Read the report)

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    The Sacred and the Sovereign: Religion and International Politics

    John D. Carlson and Erik C. Owens, eds. Georgetown University Press, 2003 $26.95 Until September 11th, 2001, few in the West fully appreciated the significance of religion in international politics. The terrible events of that day refocused our attention on how thoroughly religion and politics intermingle, sometimes with horrific results. But must this intermingling always […]

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    Survey Of Latino Attitudes On The War With Iraq

    The Hispanic population is divided over the war with Iraq. Latinos born in the United States express strong support as well as optimism over its course thus far while the foreign born voice more cautious views and greater concern over the potential for terrorist attacks and economic losses, according to a Pew Hispanic Center poll of Latino adults taken April 3 to 6, 2003. This survey shows that support for the war is considerably higher among all Latinos as U.S. troops take the fight to Baghdad than in a similar survey taken in mid-February when the prospect of war was being debated at the United Nations.

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    America’s Image Further Erodes, Europeans Want Weaker Ties

    Introduction and Summary Anti-war sentiment and disapproval of President Bush’s international policies continue to erode America’s image among the publics of its allies. U.S. favorability ratings have plummeted in the past six months in countries actively opposing war ­ France, Germany and Russia ­ as well as in countries that are part of the “coalition […]

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    Survey Of Latino Attitudes On A Possible War With Iraq

    Support for U.S. military action against Iraq is weaker in the Hispanic population, particularly among the foreign born, than in the American population overall, according to a Pew Hispanic Center poll of Latino adults taken February 13 to 16, 2003. Several recent polls by news organizations show that 60 to 70 percent of the general public supports military action. In this survey 48 percent of Latinos said they support invading Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein from power and 43 percent are opposed. Among native-born Latinos support for a possible war is 52 percent, and among foreign-born Latinos support is 46 percent in the Pew Hispanic Center poll. Overall Latino views mirror those of the general public on whether Iraq poses an immediate threat to the United States although somewhat fewer Latinos see a long-term threat from Iraq compared to the findings of general population polls.

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    Powell Reversed the Trend but not the Tenor of Public Opinion

    The American public reacted very favorably to Secretary of State Colin Powell’s presentation to the U.N. Security Council. The flurry of polling conducted over the past week indicates that he made convincing points to the American public about the dangers posed by Saddam’s Hussein’s regime. Powell and President Bush, in his State of the Union […]

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    Religion and American Foreign Policy: Prophetic, Perilous, Inevitable

    10 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Washington, D.C. Presenters: Fr. Bryan Hehir, President, Catholic Charities, USA; Distinguished Professor of Ethics and International Affairs, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University Michael Walzer, Professor, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, N.J.; Author, Just and Unjust Wars and Spheres of Justice: A Defense of Pluralism and Equality Respondents: Charles Krauthammer, Columnist, Washington […]

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    Bush Targets Top Global Problem – AIDS

    With his decision to dramatically increase U.S. overseas spending on the AIDS epidemic, President Bush is addressing a crisis that dominates the concerns of people around the world. The spread of AIDS and other infectious diseases is not just a major crisis in Africa, where the toll from AIDS has been highest. Majorities in 31 […]

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    Bush Targets Top Global Problem – AIDS

    With his decision to dramatically increase U.S. overseas spending on the AIDS epidemic, President Bush is addressing a crisis that dominates the concerns of people around the world. The spread of AIDS and other infectious diseases is not just a major crisis in Africa, where the toll from AIDS has been highest. Majorities in 31 […]

Signature Reports

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Attitudes on an Interconnected World

How close do people feel to others around the world? How much do they want their countries involved in international affairs? How do people’s experiences with travel and feelings of international connectedness relate to their views about the world? A recent 24-nation survey explores these questions.

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What Can Improve Democracy?

Amid growing discontent with the state of democracy globally, we asked over 30,000 people what changes would make their democracy work better.