As Americans prepare to celebrate July 4th, 58% consider the U.S. to be one of the greatest countries in the world, but that number has declined 10 points since 2011.
As the Tiananmen protests unfolded in 1989, most Americans wanted to show support for the pro-democracy movement. But in the years since, economic ties and economic competition have become the dominant topics between the two nations, while at the same time the relationship has become more distrustful.
President Obama's trip to Asia this week comes at a time when many U.S. allies in the region are concerned about China's intentions.
Vladimir Putin’s third term as Russia’s president had already been marked by clear signs of his intention to reassert his country as a world power before his move to annex Crimea. But whatever impact the latest events have on international opinion about Putin, views about him in the U.S. and allied countries had already turned negative compared to his first took office in 2000.
In a spring 2012 survey, 44% of Russians agreed that a Russian empire is natural.
Partisanship is a major factor in a new Pew Research Center survey showing that a growing number of Americans believe the U.S. is less respected in the world and plays a less important role globally than 10 years ago.
Highlights from the report, "Public Sees U.S. Power Declining as Support for Global Engagement Slips." For the first time in nearly a half century of polling, a majority agrees that the United States should mind its own business internationally.
Growing numbers of Americans believe that U.S. global power and prestige are in decline. And support for U.S. global engagement has fallen. Yet, despite these reservations, most Americans say greater U.S. involvement in the global economy is a good thing.
While the American public increasingly has been looking inward after years of economic stress at home and a decade of wars abroad, they have a keen awareness of the challenges posed to the U.S. by China in the superpower competition between the two countries.
Explore the global image of two of the world's leading economic powers, the United States and China.
