America’s Foreign Fans

A year ago, anti-Americanism had shown some signs of abating, in part because of the positive feelings generated by U.S. aid for tsunami victims in Indonesia and elsewhere. But the 2006 Pew Global Attitudes Survey found that favorable opinions of the United States have fallen in most of the 15 countries surveyed. However, in four countries — Japan, India, Great Britain and Nigeria — a majority of the public still holds a very or somewhat favorable view of the United States. Only about a quarter of the Spanish public (23%) now expresses positive views of the U.S., down from 41% last year; America’s image also has declined significantly in India (from 71% to 56%) and Indonesia (from 38% to 30%). Yet the survey shows that Americans and the publics of major U.S. allies share common concerns, not only over the possible nuclear threat posed by Iran but also over the recent victory by the Hamas Party in Palestinian elections. Read More