Europe & Russia

Elections in Italy and Sweden have underscored the growing electoral strength that populist parties have displayed in Europe in recent years.

The Chinese Communist Party is preparing for its 20th National Congress, an event likely to result in an unprecedented third term for President Xi Jinping. Since Xi took office in 2013, opinion of China in the U.S. and other advanced economies has turned more negative. How did it get to be this way?

Favorable opinions of Russia and Putin have declined sharply among Europe’s populists following Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.

Americans express less concern than in the spring about Ukraine being defeated by Russia and about the war expanding into other countries.

Across 19 advanced economies surveyed by Pew Research Center this spring, a median of 65% say they have a favorable view of the UN.

Despite the many depressing stories dominating the international news cycle, there is also a note of positivity among survey respondents in views of the UN, the benefits of international cooperation for solving problems and the importance of common values for bringing nations together.

A median of 70% of adults across 19 countries say children in their country will be worse off than their parents financially when they grow up.

A median of 68% across 19 countries think their country has done a good job dealing with the coronavirus outbreak, with majorities saying this in every country surveyed except Japan. However, most also believe the pandemic has created greater divisions in their societies and exposed weaknesses in their political systems – and these view are especially common in the U.S.

Viktor Orban, who’s set to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas, receives generally positive ratings from Hungarians.

Here are answers to some common questions about the EU, how countries can join it, how long each step typically takes and more.