International Terrorism

Twenty years ago, Americans came together – bonded by sadness and patriotism – after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But a review of public opinion in the two decades since finds that unity was fleeting. It also shows how support for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq was strong initially but fell over time.

“Saddened, hurt, disgusted,” one woman in her 50s said. “Never thought I would see anything like this in my life.”

The gender gap in party identification remains the widest in a quarter century.

Most say cooperation with other countries is important in dealing with global threats, especially on the spread of infectious diseases.

The U.S. has more foreign students enrolled in its colleges and universities than any other country in the world. Explore data about foreign students in the U.S. higher education system.

People around the world identify ISIS and climate change as leading international threats. Many also name cyberattacks from other countries and the condition of the global economy as major challenges.

People across Europe and in the U.S. and Canada have pervasive concerns about the threat of Islamic extremism in their countries.

As the 15th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, partisan differences over the ability of terrorists to launch a major attack on the United States are now as wide as at any point dating back to 2002.

After a year of escalating terror attacks against Western targets, people across Europe are widely supportive of U.S.-led military action against the Islamic militant group known as ISIS.

The United States and its European allies have maintained a strong transatlantic relationship for more than half a century, even if Americans and Europeans have not always seen eye-to-eye on foreign policy issues.