International Threats and Allies

A growing share of people globally see U.S. power and influence as a major threat to their country. Views are linked with attitudes toward Trump and the U.S. as a whole.

People around the world agree that climate change poses a severe risk to their countries, according to a 26-nation survey conducted in spring 2018. Terrorism, specifically from ISIS, and cyberattacks are also seen by many as major security threats.

Americans have less positive views of China, with a growing share concerned about China’s economic strength instead of its military capabilities.

At a time of rising tensions between their countries, people in the United States and Germany express increasingly divergent views about the status of their decades-long partnership.

On balance, people around the world continue to give the United States favorable ratings and say it respects the individual liberties of its people. More countries also prefer the U.S. as the world’s leading power over China. At the same time, many express frustration about America’s role in the world and say they have little confidence in President Donald Trump to do the right thing in world affairs

About half of U.S. adults say the country's mission in Afghanistan has mostly failed in achieving its goals, while about a third say it has mostly succeeded.

Americans’ views of Russia have declined in the past year, as have Russians’ views of the United States. See six charts on public opinion about the relationship between the two nations.

Overall, 38% of Americans have a favorable opinion of China, down slightly from 44% in 2017. Concerns about China include economic threats, cyberattacks, environmental damage and human rights.

Most Americans expressed an unfavorable opinion of Putin earlier this year, but Russians have a relatively positive view of Trump. Globally, there is low confidence in Putin and Trump on international affairs.

Across all 12 NATO member countries, a median of 61% approved of the alliance last spring. Many Americans say NATO does too little to solve global problems.