According to our “Trends in American Values” report released in June 2012, 83% agree that “we should pay less attention to problems overseas and concentrate on problems here at home.” That’s up 10 points since 2002, shortly after the 9/11 attacks, and the highest percentage expressing this view since 1994. At the same time, the percentage agreeing that “it’s best for the future of our country to be active in world affairs” has fallen from 90% to 83% since 2009, while the percentage disagreeing doubled from 7% to 14%.

The public is divided on the use of military strength.

According to our September 2012 survey, four-in-ten Americans believe the U.S. relies on military strength too much to achieve its foreign policy goals, and about the same number (44%) say their country relies on its military strength about the right amount. Only 10% say the U.S. relies on military might too little.

Most think the U.S. should be less involved in Middle East leadership changes.

A plurality of Americans would support taking military action against Syria if it is confirmed that it used chemical weapons against anti-government groups.

However, absent the concern about use of chemical weapons, Americans surveyed in Dec. 2012 said by a 63% to 27% margin that the U.S. did not have a responsibility to do something about Syria. A survey conducted in early March that did not include a question on chemical weapons found that 64% of Americans were against arming the rebels.

Americans largely approve of the use of drones to target extremists, unlike most other nations surveyed. 

Americans largely support the use of drones to target extremists in countries like Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.  A survey released February of this year found 56% of the U.S. public continues to support the drone program and 26% say they disapprove. Support for drone attacks crosses party lines: 68% of Republicans and 58% of Democrats say they support the strikes.

In the rest of the world, there has been strong opposition to American drone strikes. In 17 of 20 countries surveyed last spring, more than half disapproved of the U.S. conducting drone attacks. The policy was particularly unpopular in majority-Muslim nations, but it also faced disapproval in Europe and other regions as well.

 Overall, defending the nation from terrorism has remained a “top priority” for the U.S. public in recent years, although it has slipped from the top spot since 2002. In 2013, 71% of the public said it was a top priority for Congress and the president, behind strengthening the nation’s economy (84%) and improving the job situation (79%) and about the same as reducing the deficit (72%). (Explore  our interactive data visual on the public’s top priorities 2002-2013.)

Americans continue to support a tough stance to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Our February 2012 report found strong public support for taking tough measures – including the possible use of military force – to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Nearly six-in-ten (58%) said it is more important to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, even if it means taking military action. Just 30% say it is more important to avoid a military conflict with Iran, even if it means that country develops nuclear weapons. These opinions are little changed from October 2009.

Iran and China are at the top of the public’s list of countries that pose the greatest danger to the United States. In a spring 2012 survey, 26% named China as the country that represents the greatest danger to the United States; Iran received the second-most mentions at 16%. North Korea, at 13%, was third.

In the same survey examining attitudes about global threats, 70% said Iran’s nuclear program poses a major threat to the well-being of the United States.

A majority of Americans want troops out of Afghanistan quickly.

Our surveys have found growing support since 2010 for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan “as soon as possible.” In October 2012, six-in-ten said they want the troops removed as soon as possible, up from just 40 percent in 2010. 

Read more Pew Research reports on Foreign Policy.

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Overview | Economy | Middle Class | Gun Control | U.S.-China Relations | U.S.-Middle East Relations | Immigration | Climate Change | Gay Marriage | Debt and Deficit

With China a key foreign policy issue in the 2012 presidential contest, and both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney promising to “get tough” with the Asian power, the American public expresses both positive and negative views about China and U.S. policy towards it.

Nearly two-thirds describe relations between the U.S. and China as good, and most consider China a competitor rather than an enemy. At the same time, majorities say the U.S. cannot trust China and that the Asian nation does not consider the interests of other countries when making foreign policy decisions. When it comes to dealing with China, as many say being tough with China on economic issues is a very important priority for the U.S. as say the same about building a strong bilateral relationship.

Despite generally positive assessments of U.S.-China relations, Americans are clearly concerned about China’s growing economic strength and its impact on the United States. Most consider the large amount of American debt held by China, the loss of U.S. jobs to China and the U.S. trade deficit with China to be very serious problems, and about half say the Asian nation’s emergence as a world power poses a major threat to America.

The economic euphoria in India over the last few years, inspired by the country’s seemingly inevitable march toward double-digit growth, has soured and is now faring worse than in China and Brazil, according to a survey of India by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project.

Indians are mixed in their assessment of their national economy: 49% say the economy is in good shape, while 45% describe the economy as bad. A year ago opinion was more upbeat, with a 56%-majority saying the national economy was doing well, compared to 43% who disagreed. Despite this decline, Indians remain more positive about current economic conditions than populations in most of the 17 countries surveyed in both 2011 and 2012 by the Pew Global Attitudes Project.

Nevertheless, the trend line in India conveys a more troubling story. Just 38% of Indians are satisfied with the way things are going in the country – a 13 percentage point decline since last year. This is among the largest drops in national contentment across the countries surveyed in 2011 and 2012.

The face-to-face survey of more than 4,000 people in India was conducted between March 19 and April 19.