THE AMERICAN ECONOMY

A worried world

A new opinion poll, conducted in 15 countries, confirms that people still worry a great deal about America’s presence in Iraq, but also about Iran’s nuclear ambitions, about Hamas and about global warming

POLLS are something like inkblot tests—what one sees in them says a lot about the reader. Since 2002 the Pew Research Centre, an American group based in Washington, DC, has conducted an annual survey of global opinion. This year over 16,700 interviews were carried out in 15 countries (six European, five Asian, two Middle Eastern, one African and the United States itself) in an effort to give a glimpse of what is on the world’s mind.
One headline result, predictably, is that people are still worried about the American military throwing its weight around. In a dozen countries those surveyed saw a greater threat to world peace from American soldiers in Iraq than from the aggressive governments of Iran and North Korea. If George Bush wants to build an international coalition against the two remaining members of his “axis of evil”, this poll suggests he will have his work cut out. He might find a sliver of comfort, however, from two countries that know a bit about American occupation: the people of Japan and Germany are somewhat less hostile than most towards America’s foreign policy.
This is not to say that the world is blasé about Iran and its angry leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In none of the countries canvassed did a majority believe that oil-rich Iran wants nuclear technology only for the purposes of creating energy. Among the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (Britain, France, Russia, America and China) clear majorities think that Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons. And almost everyone—though Egyptians, Jordanians and Pakistanis demur—sharply opposes an Iranian bomb. Whether such attitudes prompt governments to take effective action against Iran is, of course, another matter.
On Iran and Iraq there is near global consensus: both are dangerous. But some issues are more divisive. Non-Muslim countries mostly rate the election of the Islamic group Hamas as bad news for Palestinians, while five majority-Muslim countries, unsurprisingly, said the opposite. Nor does everyone agree what issues matter. In Japan and most of Europe over 80% worry about global warming a lot or somewhat. But in America and China—the two countries that emit the most greenhouse gases—only just over half of the respondents were concerned.
The Pew poll also asked how much interviewees like each other’s countries. The war in Iraq caused America’s popularity to plummet and there is, so far, no sign of recovery. This year even saw another drop from the dismal level of support seen in 2005, in most places. Leave aside India and Japan (and America itself) and in every country surveyed China was more popular than America. The Chinese do say so themselves: they humbly give their homeland a 94% favourability rating.
Positive self-regard was pretty high in America, too, at 77%. But only 68% of French respondents felt ready to crow about their pays. Their sense of insecurity may reflect recent troubles such as the largely Muslim youth riots late last year and prolonged strikes early this year. And in every other country but one outsiders are less enamoured with France than before. The exception is the United States, which seems to be getting over its Iraq-war imbroglio with France: marginally more respondents now have favourable views of France rather than hostile ones.
There is one piece of good news for everyone, and particularly for the world’s dominant power. The Pew survey shows that respondents are able to distinguish between a country, its people and its government. The American people are more popular than America the country, while Mr Bush’s ratings are far lower than both. But other world leaders should not be smug. Those surveyed were keener on France than on its president, Jacques Chirac. For those inclined to see inkblots and opinion polls in a favourable light there is a final, hopeful, conclusion: many of the results suggest that the people of the world might get on much better if only governments did not get in the way.