A View of America from Abroad (Part I)

The Pew Global Attitudes Project has released their annual survey on world opinions regarding the United States.  This annual survey over the past 3 years (the survey has run longer) has sampled anywhere from 6 to 44 nations ranging 5,520 responses to as many as 38,263.  This year's survey sampled 16,766 people from 16 nations.

The nations included are predominately from Europe with China and India representing the non-Muslim Asian countries and a collection of Muslim countries from the Middle East to Pakistan and Indonesia.

The responses are an improvement from last year's survey, but not by much.  However, there is significant data to be mined in the study.

India

US diplomacy in South East Asia is paying off.  Even with the US sale of F-16s to Pakistan, 71% of Indians had a favorable view of the United States.  This is striking given their multi-religious emerging democratic society and bodes well for future relations between to the two countries.  Additionally, US support after the December 2004 tsunami left 54% of India's citizens with a more favorable view of the US as well.

The survey also looked at three overall positive attributes of the United States (along with 4 negative traits) and ranked perceptions.  81% of India's population view Americans as "Hardworking" (5th highest view), 86% as "Inventive" (1st of 16) and 58% as "Honest" (2nd of 16). 

With respect to the negative attributes, India sees America as significantly less "Greedy" than Americans do at 43% vs. 70%.  Only 39% of India sees Americans as "Violent" compared to 49% in the States.  For being "Rude," India's people thought Americans rude at 27% compared to domestically at 35%, a rather good outcome, especially considering all of the India call centers that have to deal with frustrated Americans regularly.  On "Immorality" the Indian consensus was 36% to 39% in America.

The highest result for a foreign nation believing that US foreign policy is concerned about others was from India with 63% answering in the affirmative compared with only 26% who answered "no". 

The only country to name the US as their top rated foreign country to go to "to lead a good life" was India, with 38% of respondents opting for the States, a higher percentage overall than any other destination for any nation's respondents.

Strikingly, Indians and Americans have almost identical views in what influences American foreign policy, ranking them in order for both nations: 1) News Media (40% US - 36% India), 2) Business/Corporations (23% -21%), 3) the Military (7% - 6%), 4) Jews (1% - 2%), 5) Conservative Christians (6% - 5%), 6) Liberals (2% - 2%) and 7) Ordinary Americans (13% - 4%) the largest difference. 

On the issue of Iraq, India topped the list as the country that most believed that the world was safer without Saddam, 45% to 26%, ahead of even American views.

On protecting the environment, Indians gave the US its highest ranking from foreign nations.

While most of the responses from the Indians were pro-US, this one statistic stands in sharp contrast.  Would the world be better if "Another Rivaled U.S. Military Power"?  81% of Indians said "yes" while only 15% said "no".  This could be in large part to a history of US support of Pakistan that has only been further highlighted because of the War on Terror.  Additionally, 45% of Indians believe that China becoming a military rival to the US is a positive development.  This could be explained from two perspectives, the first being that Indians are comfortable with growing Chinese power in the region.  However, I suspect a second perspective is a more realist approach from the Indians.  A rising China only increases the value of a strategic US-Indian partnership that would cover economic, military and political areas of mutual support that would further India's strategic and economic importance. 

Overall, the study does point to Bush Administration successes in reaching out to India. 

In my next part of this series I will address US and French views of each other.  They are not what would be expected and point to some positive areas of diplomatic growth in the relationship.

Comments

[Seth]

A lot of the largesse we show after large scale disasters doesn't seem to attract any overt attention from the MSM, whose main concern is how much money Uncle Sam is donating, comes from the generosity and willingness to help of our very own Private Sector.

Big American Corporations and wealthy individuals make large donations while middle class Americans make smaller ones.
American engineering firms, others that specialize in work that needs doing or manufacture equipment or tools that are required donate their products, whether they are manpower or materials.
Companies donate food, blankets, etc...

I think our image in countries that we help in disaster's aftermath profits hugely from these non-governmental sources, because the people learn that the American People, not just our politicians, are there for them when they need us.

[Tom the Redhunter]

Very interesting, Bill.

While so many wail and moan that "the rest of the world hates us", I think that's the wrong question. The question is, who likes us and who doesn't . The fact is, we have all the right enemies, and all the right friends.

Given French foreign policy, I'd be mighty worried if they did like us. Same with the Chinese. On the other hand, I've always thought that India and the US were natural allies. The Cold War swept everything in it's path, and India felt the need to shake off it's colonialist days by being "non-aligned", With those days past us, we can get on with a positive relationship.

[Kiran]

As a regular Indian software programmer, my loyalty to the US comes partly from the fact that the software industry that has given a good life to hundreds of thousands of young programmers in India, and positively affected the lives of millions all over the country, would have been non-existent if the US had been a closed society. Never mind the benefits to the US, I would count my own blessings. The rest (and the bulk) of it is because I largely agree with Thomas Friedman's views on the world at large.

Having said that I am pleasantly surprised at the largely positive response recieved. A lot of people in India are armchair anti-US activists, and I have had my share of encounters with baseless accusations. Maybe I have never asked the right questions though. There is no doubt however that everyone admires the US, its power and its way of life.

[Will Franklin]

Great points, all.

I think that the questions are designed to elicit "venting" about America, generally.

I also think the Indian love for the U.S. was way underplayed by the headlines.

[Bill Rice]

Seth, Tom, Kiran and Will,

I couldn't agree with you all more. Kiran, I greatly appreciate your Indian perspective and I hope that both nations make progress in treating each other with mutual respect and support, for our goals are more similar than different.

Tom, it is interesting to see who our friends are and my next post looks to disect some of the French opinions. It should be interesting.

Will, you are right about the MSM, almost all headlines took the most negative spin like "US image improves only slightly".

Seth, the US response, especially with using the military in a "positive" humanitarian way I think has paid tremendous dividends. Many nations were able to see the US in a new light. This was definately helpful.

Kind regards,

Bill Rice
Dawn's Early Light

[Bill Rice]

Seth, Tom, Kiran and Will,

I couldn't agree with you all more. Kiran, I greatly appreciate your Indian perspective and I hope that both nations make progress in treating each other with mutual respect and support, for our goals are more similar than different.

Tom, it is interesting to see who our friends are and my next post looks to disect some of the French opinions. It should be interesting.

Will, you are right about the MSM, almost all headlines took the most negative spin like "US image improves only slightly".

Seth, the US response, especially with using the military in a "positive" humanitarian way I think has paid tremendous dividends. Many nations were able to see the US in a new light. This was definately helpful.

Kind regards,

Bill Rice
Dawn's Early Light

[kash]

I think that by and large, the young and the educated middle classes and upper middle classes in India are reasonably pro-American. They've seen how useless the socialist policies of the past were. Older people still have memories of 1971 and Nixon and Kissinger, and so tend to be less pro-American ;-)

However, it is important to remember that the majority of India does not have phones and does not even get polled. I would suspect the bulk of the Indian population have no opinion whatsoever of the US.

Incidentally, I suspect that the reason a lot of people see a military rival to the US as good is because they hope to see India filling that role (maybe in 2 decades) :-)

[brad]

I totally agree. I have returned to India after spending a considerable time in the US. To be frank for a long time I havent seen any Indian criticising the US. almost everyone here feels very positive about US.

[Hadji who runs a 7/11]

Hoo hoo hoo har har har! What a joke of an article. Sounds like the PEWK face Yanks are congratulating themselves on being given "thumbs up by India". LOL! LOL! ROTFL!

Say they tuk a survey huh?......har har har .....probably in some Yankee call center where the chumps dont mind being called "Apu or Dothead (as the case may be)" by their Yankee patron as long as the dollars keep flowing in.

What this article doesnt tell us is that the Great Satan has been beaten by the lowly Chicoms in the international PR ratings.....ouch! That must hurt! Dosnt matter.....our blokes here can pat the back of GOP that at least Kissinger's ol' "bastards" are on their side. Ho ho ho har har har. Hey what happened to all your big time allies, your palsy-walsy Pakis and Saudi Izlammics chums and all the fraternity of the English speaking Anglo-Saxon Christiandom and the Euroweenies, French sissies .........have all shown the finger have they? Aww how sad!!!!! Booo hooo hooo!!

No problemo we Injuns love ya!
We Injuns love ya for having supplying Pakis with all possible weaponry with which it will be easier for them to kill us.
We Injuns love ya for having Pakiland preserve its terror factory for use against Injya.
We Injuns love ya for selecting Injya to be used as a sacrificial pawn to be used against the Chicoms.
We Injuns just cant staph loving ya.

And you guys love us sooo much that ........
you dont want us sitting anywhere near you in the UNSC.
And you guys love us sooo much that ........
you give Pakistan all the weapons and billions of dollars and for us a small kiss and a promise ........to turn us into "superpower".......yeah like "suckerpower".

[yank71]

Just got to this dead thread, but god am I glad it ended like THAT.

You guys were sounding like such a smug, weasley, anal-retentive bunch of wretches, it was a relief to see the timely skewering some deceptively well-informed (if a little simple) bloke finally gave you. Before reading that, this was my favorite part:

"There is no doubt however that everyone admires the US, its power and its way of life." (Kiran)

What are you thinking, man?

[nir]

There is no doubt in asserting that most Indians admire US. Most of them also hold a view that middle east policy of bush admin was correct but execution went wrong in Iraq. I dont understand why media or some SIGs in US keeps propogating that everyone outside hates US.