As the immediate Republican reaction to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address demonstrates, expectations of bipartisan cooperation exist against a backdrop of continuing partisan gridlock in the United States, raising questions about the future course of U.S. foreign policy.
Americans support strategic and economic engagement with the rest of the world, but within limits, and they remain divided on many of these issues along partisan lines, whatever their party leaders in Washington say.
In recent years, high-profile protest movements have erupted in several emerging and developing countries, roiling, and sometimes overturning, the political status quo in Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, Ukraine, Brazil, Thailand and other nations. Millions have demonstrated, and activists have pioneered new forms of online engagement.
Pope Francis, leader of the world’s nearly 1.1 billion Catholics, enjoys broad support across much of the world: a median of 60% across 43 nations have a favorable view of him. Only 11% see the pope unfavorably, and 28% give no rating.
If the Indian public's sense of its own well-being and that of the nation does not improve in both absolute and relative terms, the Modi government may eventually be called to account.
President Barack Obama will travel to India in January to participate in the Indian Republic Day celebration in New Delhi as the chief guest. While there he is expected to talk trade and anti-terrorism with his host Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
If and when the new Congress considers implementing legislation for the TPP, that legislative fight might expose the dirty little secret of current American trade politics: both Democrats and Republicans in Congress seem to be out of touch with their own political bases on trade issues.
The Indian public's views on trade and foreign investment are more positive than past Indian governments have claimed and more positive than foreigners often assume.
Nearly 40% of the world's Catholics live in Latin America, but many people in the region have converted from Catholicism to Protestantism, while some have left organized religion altogether.
Americans head to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 4, with major international issues -- the U.S. effort to counter Islamic State (IS) extremism, how to deal with Iran, the Israeli-Palestinian situation, Russia, and President Barack Obama's general handling of foreign policy -- likely to play a role in their vote.
When offered the chance to choose one out of six different causes for inequality -- government economic policies, workers' pay, the educational system, trade, the tax system and the poor's work ethic -- people around the world generally agree that the gap between the rich and the poor is a product of failed government policies and inadequate wages.
Publics across the globe see the threat of religious and ethnic violence as a growing threat to the world’s future, with concern especially strong in the Middle East.
With parliamentary elections approaching later this month, Tunisian support for democracy has declined steeply since the early days of the Arab Spring. Just 48% of Tunisians now say democracy is preferable to other kinds of government, down from 63% in a 2012 poll conducted only months after a popular uprising removed longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from office.
As they continue to struggle with the effects of the Great Recession, most people in advanced economies are pessimistic about the financial prospects of the next generation. In contrast, emerging and developing nations are more optimistic that the next generation will have a higher standard of living.
Six years since the beginning of the Great Recession and publics around the world remain glum about the state of their economy and prospects for an economic recovery. In most nations, people say their country is heading in the wrong direction and most voice the view that economic conditions are bad.
Developing countries provide the strongest support for international trade and foreign investment, while people in many advanced economies are skeptical. Americans are among the least likely to hold a positive view of the impact of trade on jobs and wages.
Six years after the beginning of the Great Recession, amid an uneven global economic recovery, publics around the world remain glum. In most nations, people say their country is heading in the wrong direction and most voice the view that economic conditions are bad,
Most Pakistanis remain unhappy with the country’s direction, but the public mood is more positive than it has been in recent years. The share saying the economy is in good shape has doubled since last year, and nearly two-thirds view Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif favorably.
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has been praised internationally for his ambitious reforms of everything from the energy sector to education to telecommunications, but a new Pew Research Center survey in Mexico finds that domestically his positive image is faltering and a key component of his political agenda – economic reform – is decidedly unpopular.
As Turkey prepares to vote for its first ever directly elected president, a new Pew Research Center survey finds the Turkish public is divided over the main contender for the office, current Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
It is conventional wisdom among many pundits and opinion leaders that recent revelations of spying by the U.S. National Security Agency have deeply scarred America’s reputation abroad.
Even as Washington and other Western capitals are understandably preoccupied with Ukraine and the Middle East, the pot in Asia is simmering towards a boil.
The rivalry between China and Japan is heating up. China is viewed with favor for its economic contribution to the region, but with concern about its territorial ambitions throughout the region. Japan, while not in China's class economically, is quite popular -- at least outside Northeast Asia.
Beleaguered at home, U.S. President Barack Obama remains beloved in many nations abroad, and he is far more popular than his predecessor George W. Bush.
Overall, attitudes toward the United States are largely unchanged from 2013. This suggests that despite a perception at home that U.S. influence abroad is waning, there is little evidence of that erosion overseas.
Revelations about the scope of American electronic surveillance efforts have generated headlines around the world. A new Pew Research Center survey finds widespread decline in the view that the U.S. respects the personal freedoms of its people. But in most countries there is little evidence this opposition has severely harmed America’s overall image.
Americans are more inward looking today on foreign policy issues than they have been at any time in the last half century, and the fissures that separate one American from another on international affairs are far more nuanced than a simple left-right disagreement.