Zeno Swijtink
06-14-2008, 10:41 PM
Bush's Exit Helps U.S. Image Abroad, Survey Shows (https://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/12/america/pew1.php)
MEG BORTIN - International Herald-Tribune
PARIS -- There is good news and bad news for President George W. Bush as he pursues his valedictory tour of Europe this week, according to a new worldwide study by the Pew Global Attitudes Project.
https://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/04/05/world/05cnd-prexy-600.jpg
On the one hand, the image of the United States has improved slightly in many countries over the past year. On the other, the new optimism appears to be driven largely by the fact that Bush will soon be leaving office.
https://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,1137657,00.jpg
In addition, while the prospect of Bush's departure and the excitement of the U.S. primary contest have helped the image of the United States, a worldwide surge in concern about slumping economic conditions and a widespread view that the U.S. economy is harming local economies may tarnish it.
https://blogs.guardian.co.uk/news/archives/bushfish.jpg
Survey respondents also tend to see the United States as the main offender in global warming, Pew said.
https://bp2.blogger.com/_Qy4iftwk5JM/Rqep_3KKFrI/AAAAAAAABLM/Z2mBouoYcsg/s400/bush+global+warming.jpg
"There has been no sea change in world views of the United States," Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center, said of the results, which were issued Thursday. "Europeans are still much more negative than they were at the beginning of the decade, and highly negative views prevail in the Muslim world. But there are some indications that the world sees the possibility of change with the prospect of a new president."
https://images.salon.com/opinion/kamiya/2007/07/17/iraq_withdrawal/story.jpg
The 24-nation survey, which was conducted in March and April, shows that many people who have been following the U.S. presidential race expect U.S. foreign policy to improve when Bush leaves the White House in January.
It also shows that publics worldwide have greater confidence in Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, than in his Republican rival, John McCain, "to do the right thing regarding world affairs." This feeling is strongest in Europe, Australia and Japan, as well as in Tanzania, which borders Kenya, the homeland of Obama's father.
https://www.newscientist.com/currentcover.jpg
But for the moment the image of the United States remains largely negative, hurt by the war in Iraq and the mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Pessimism about the future of Iraq
https://tharwacommunity.typepad.com/tharwa_review/images/2008/03/29/196iraq_windshield_800_standalone_p.jpg
has deepened over the past two years, and most people surveyed want the United States and NATO to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the survey confirmed, people worldwide acknowledge the ascendancy of China. Many people - including 3 out of 10 Americans - think that China will eventually replace the United States as the world's leading superpower, although no timeframe was specified.
https://www.destination360.com/asia/china/images/s/china-great-wall-of-china.jpg
But people are also critical of China, according to the poll, which was conducted shortly after civil unrest broke out in Tibet this spring. Overall favorableness ratings have slipped over the past year; China is seen by many as ignoring the interests of other countries and is faulted for its record on the environment and human rights.
https://www.chinaherald.net/uploaded_images/deadfish-764441.jpg
https://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/07/24/china.promises/art.stadium.officer.afp.jpg
The survey of 24,717 people is the seventh major study conducted by the Pew Global Attitudes Project since 2002, Bush's second year in office, when the image of the United States was far more positive, buoyed by world sympathy following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Favorable views of America plummeted the next year with the invasion of Iraq, and in many countries - including close allies like Britain and Germany - opinions declined further in the ensuing years.
https://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q15/losernet/lindsay.jpg
This year, however, there is a significant uptick in positive views of the United States in 10 of the 21 countries for which comparative data are available.
In Poland, for example, favorable views dropped to 61 percent last year from 79 percent in 2002, but this year they bounced back to 68 percent. In Indonesia, a mostly Muslim nation, positive views plunged to 15 percent in 2003 from 61 percent in 2002, but they have now rebounded to 37 percent. In other countries like France, Britain and Turkey, favorable views edged up this year, but by less than four percentage points.
Despite the upward trend, there are still just eight survey countries in which majorities now have a favorable view of the United States: Britain, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa, South Korea and Tanzania.
In fact, in one-third of the survey countries, more respondents see the United States as an enemy than as a partner. This view is especially strong in Turkey,
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Turkey_Feet.jpg/800px-Turkey_Feet.jpg
a longtime U.S. ally in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and in Pakistan, a partner of the United States in its "war on terror."
And while majorities in all countries surveyed see the United States influencing affairs in their country, many see this as a bad thing - more than half of respondents in Turkey, Jordan, Argentina and, again, Britain, with which the United States theoretically enjoys a "special relationship."
Respondents worldwide expressed concern about the impact of the U.S. economic downturn. "While America's economic reach is pervasive, it also is regarded as pernicious," the report said.
https://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/00YVaWH4b3cLu/610x.jpg
"In Britain, Germany, France, Spain, Turkey, Japan and Australia, majorities of those surveyed say the U.S. economy is currently having a negative effect on their economies. In no country does a majority say the U.S. economy is having a positive effect."
In the United States, too, more than 60 percent of respondents who see the U.S. economy as having an impact on other countries characterize this effect as negative.
Anxiety about the economy is widespread. "In three-quarters of the countries Pew surveyed," or 18 countries, "a majority now say that their national economic conditions are bad - far more than just one year ago," the report said. Notable exceptions are India, Australia and indeed China, where 82 percent see the current economic situation as good.
https://www.mkbergman.com/wp-content/themes/ai3/images/2006Posts/060727a_HistoricalGDPGrowth.gif
In contrast, people in many survey countries see their personal economic situation in a positive light. In France, for example, 81 percent of respondents characterize the national economic situation as bad, but 68 percent see their personal economic situation as good.
Overall, majorities in 18 of the 24 survey countries are dissatisfied with the way things are going at home. The big exception is again China, where 86 percent express satisfaction, up from 83 percent last year.
Satisfaction has also increased in other countries, notably Poland, where 74 percent were unhappy with the country's direction in 2007 but only 47 percent are dissatisfied now, possibly because Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who took office in October, is seen as defending the country's interests.
In the United States, where 70 percent are dissatisfied with the way things are going, pessimism extends beyond the economy to the country's chief foreign policy challenge: Only a minority of Americans (40 percent) now think efforts to establish a democratic government in Iraq will definitely or probably succeed, while in 2006 a majority (54 percent) still believed success was likely.
And in 21 countries, majorities or pluralities want the United States and NATO to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan "as soon as possible," Pew reported. The only survey countries where the public leans toward keeping troops in Afghanistan until the situation has stabilized are Australia, Britain and the United States, which have forces in the country.
As for Bush, his popularity has collapsed among Americans over the past five years, with those expressing confidence in him to do the right thing in world affairs falling from 78 percent in 2003 to 37 percent this year.
The outgoing U.S. president remains very unpopular worldwide. His confidence rating stands at less than 20 percent in Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. But it stands at 55 percent in India and Nigeria, and it has risen to 60 percent in Tanzania, where Bush visited in February.
Bush might take some comfort in the finding that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of Russia is also unpopular in many countries. Only in Russia itself does a majority (83 percent) trust him to do the right thing in world affairs. Yet in every surveyed country in Europe except Poland, more people express confidence in Putin than in Bush.
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, in contrast, wins the trust of large majorities at home and in France (84 percent), more than 50 percent in Britain and Spain, and pluralities in Australia, Japan, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, Tanzania and the United States.Opinions of President Nicolas Sarkozy of France are mixed, with majorities expressing confidence in his foreign policy in Australia (50 percent), Britain (53 percent) and France (51 percent), while 45 percent express trust in Germany and Poland, and more than 30 percent in Japan, Spain and the United States.Pew also asked respondents how they felt about Iran, and the reply was negative in all but four countries: Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria and Russia, where majorities or pluralities held favorable views.Among the eight mainly Muslim survey countries, majorities in seven say they would oppose Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. The exception is Pakistan - the only nuclear-armed nation of that sample - where 60 percent say they would favor a nuclear-armed Iran.Concern about global warming has increased since last year in 11 of the 20 countries for which trends are available, Pew found."When asked which country is 'hurting the environment the most,' majorities or pluralities in most countries surveyed cite the United States," the Pew report said.
https://i.realone.com/assets/rn/img/5/6/8/0/12840865-12840867-large.jpg
"But people are increasingly pointing fingers at China."Both the United States and China are among the 10 countries where majorities do not see global warming as a very serious problem. The list includes other major polluters like Russia, Indonesia and Egypt.
MEG BORTIN - International Herald-Tribune
PARIS -- There is good news and bad news for President George W. Bush as he pursues his valedictory tour of Europe this week, according to a new worldwide study by the Pew Global Attitudes Project.
https://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/04/05/world/05cnd-prexy-600.jpg
On the one hand, the image of the United States has improved slightly in many countries over the past year. On the other, the new optimism appears to be driven largely by the fact that Bush will soon be leaving office.
https://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,1137657,00.jpg
In addition, while the prospect of Bush's departure and the excitement of the U.S. primary contest have helped the image of the United States, a worldwide surge in concern about slumping economic conditions and a widespread view that the U.S. economy is harming local economies may tarnish it.
https://blogs.guardian.co.uk/news/archives/bushfish.jpg
Survey respondents also tend to see the United States as the main offender in global warming, Pew said.
https://bp2.blogger.com/_Qy4iftwk5JM/Rqep_3KKFrI/AAAAAAAABLM/Z2mBouoYcsg/s400/bush+global+warming.jpg
"There has been no sea change in world views of the United States," Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center, said of the results, which were issued Thursday. "Europeans are still much more negative than they were at the beginning of the decade, and highly negative views prevail in the Muslim world. But there are some indications that the world sees the possibility of change with the prospect of a new president."
https://images.salon.com/opinion/kamiya/2007/07/17/iraq_withdrawal/story.jpg
The 24-nation survey, which was conducted in March and April, shows that many people who have been following the U.S. presidential race expect U.S. foreign policy to improve when Bush leaves the White House in January.
It also shows that publics worldwide have greater confidence in Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, than in his Republican rival, John McCain, "to do the right thing regarding world affairs." This feeling is strongest in Europe, Australia and Japan, as well as in Tanzania, which borders Kenya, the homeland of Obama's father.
https://www.newscientist.com/currentcover.jpg
But for the moment the image of the United States remains largely negative, hurt by the war in Iraq and the mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Pessimism about the future of Iraq
https://tharwacommunity.typepad.com/tharwa_review/images/2008/03/29/196iraq_windshield_800_standalone_p.jpg
has deepened over the past two years, and most people surveyed want the United States and NATO to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the survey confirmed, people worldwide acknowledge the ascendancy of China. Many people - including 3 out of 10 Americans - think that China will eventually replace the United States as the world's leading superpower, although no timeframe was specified.
https://www.destination360.com/asia/china/images/s/china-great-wall-of-china.jpg
But people are also critical of China, according to the poll, which was conducted shortly after civil unrest broke out in Tibet this spring. Overall favorableness ratings have slipped over the past year; China is seen by many as ignoring the interests of other countries and is faulted for its record on the environment and human rights.
https://www.chinaherald.net/uploaded_images/deadfish-764441.jpg
https://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/07/24/china.promises/art.stadium.officer.afp.jpg
The survey of 24,717 people is the seventh major study conducted by the Pew Global Attitudes Project since 2002, Bush's second year in office, when the image of the United States was far more positive, buoyed by world sympathy following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Favorable views of America plummeted the next year with the invasion of Iraq, and in many countries - including close allies like Britain and Germany - opinions declined further in the ensuing years.
https://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q15/losernet/lindsay.jpg
This year, however, there is a significant uptick in positive views of the United States in 10 of the 21 countries for which comparative data are available.
In Poland, for example, favorable views dropped to 61 percent last year from 79 percent in 2002, but this year they bounced back to 68 percent. In Indonesia, a mostly Muslim nation, positive views plunged to 15 percent in 2003 from 61 percent in 2002, but they have now rebounded to 37 percent. In other countries like France, Britain and Turkey, favorable views edged up this year, but by less than four percentage points.
Despite the upward trend, there are still just eight survey countries in which majorities now have a favorable view of the United States: Britain, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa, South Korea and Tanzania.
In fact, in one-third of the survey countries, more respondents see the United States as an enemy than as a partner. This view is especially strong in Turkey,
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Turkey_Feet.jpg/800px-Turkey_Feet.jpg
a longtime U.S. ally in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and in Pakistan, a partner of the United States in its "war on terror."
And while majorities in all countries surveyed see the United States influencing affairs in their country, many see this as a bad thing - more than half of respondents in Turkey, Jordan, Argentina and, again, Britain, with which the United States theoretically enjoys a "special relationship."
Respondents worldwide expressed concern about the impact of the U.S. economic downturn. "While America's economic reach is pervasive, it also is regarded as pernicious," the report said.
https://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/00YVaWH4b3cLu/610x.jpg
"In Britain, Germany, France, Spain, Turkey, Japan and Australia, majorities of those surveyed say the U.S. economy is currently having a negative effect on their economies. In no country does a majority say the U.S. economy is having a positive effect."
In the United States, too, more than 60 percent of respondents who see the U.S. economy as having an impact on other countries characterize this effect as negative.
Anxiety about the economy is widespread. "In three-quarters of the countries Pew surveyed," or 18 countries, "a majority now say that their national economic conditions are bad - far more than just one year ago," the report said. Notable exceptions are India, Australia and indeed China, where 82 percent see the current economic situation as good.
https://www.mkbergman.com/wp-content/themes/ai3/images/2006Posts/060727a_HistoricalGDPGrowth.gif
In contrast, people in many survey countries see their personal economic situation in a positive light. In France, for example, 81 percent of respondents characterize the national economic situation as bad, but 68 percent see their personal economic situation as good.
Overall, majorities in 18 of the 24 survey countries are dissatisfied with the way things are going at home. The big exception is again China, where 86 percent express satisfaction, up from 83 percent last year.
Satisfaction has also increased in other countries, notably Poland, where 74 percent were unhappy with the country's direction in 2007 but only 47 percent are dissatisfied now, possibly because Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who took office in October, is seen as defending the country's interests.
In the United States, where 70 percent are dissatisfied with the way things are going, pessimism extends beyond the economy to the country's chief foreign policy challenge: Only a minority of Americans (40 percent) now think efforts to establish a democratic government in Iraq will definitely or probably succeed, while in 2006 a majority (54 percent) still believed success was likely.
And in 21 countries, majorities or pluralities want the United States and NATO to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan "as soon as possible," Pew reported. The only survey countries where the public leans toward keeping troops in Afghanistan until the situation has stabilized are Australia, Britain and the United States, which have forces in the country.
As for Bush, his popularity has collapsed among Americans over the past five years, with those expressing confidence in him to do the right thing in world affairs falling from 78 percent in 2003 to 37 percent this year.
The outgoing U.S. president remains very unpopular worldwide. His confidence rating stands at less than 20 percent in Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. But it stands at 55 percent in India and Nigeria, and it has risen to 60 percent in Tanzania, where Bush visited in February.
Bush might take some comfort in the finding that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of Russia is also unpopular in many countries. Only in Russia itself does a majority (83 percent) trust him to do the right thing in world affairs. Yet in every surveyed country in Europe except Poland, more people express confidence in Putin than in Bush.
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, in contrast, wins the trust of large majorities at home and in France (84 percent), more than 50 percent in Britain and Spain, and pluralities in Australia, Japan, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, Tanzania and the United States.Opinions of President Nicolas Sarkozy of France are mixed, with majorities expressing confidence in his foreign policy in Australia (50 percent), Britain (53 percent) and France (51 percent), while 45 percent express trust in Germany and Poland, and more than 30 percent in Japan, Spain and the United States.Pew also asked respondents how they felt about Iran, and the reply was negative in all but four countries: Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria and Russia, where majorities or pluralities held favorable views.Among the eight mainly Muslim survey countries, majorities in seven say they would oppose Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. The exception is Pakistan - the only nuclear-armed nation of that sample - where 60 percent say they would favor a nuclear-armed Iran.Concern about global warming has increased since last year in 11 of the 20 countries for which trends are available, Pew found."When asked which country is 'hurting the environment the most,' majorities or pluralities in most countries surveyed cite the United States," the Pew report said.
https://i.realone.com/assets/rn/img/5/6/8/0/12840865-12840867-large.jpg
"But people are increasingly pointing fingers at China."Both the United States and China are among the 10 countries where majorities do not see global warming as a very serious problem. The list includes other major polluters like Russia, Indonesia and Egypt.