This study is part of a quadrennial series designed to investigate the opinions and attitudes of both the general public and a select group of opinion leaders (or elites) on matters relating to foreign policy, and to define the parameters of public opinion within which decision-makers must operate. Both general public and elite respondents were queried regarding the biggest problems facing the United States, the spending levels for various federal government programs, the role of Congress in determining foreign policy, the impact of foreign policy on issues like prices and unemployment, and the Clinton Administration's handling of various problems such as the overall foreign policy, the overall trade policy, immigration, and the relations with Latin America, Japan, Russia, Cuba, Vietnam, and the Middle East. Questions were also asked about the government's reactions to the ongoing situations in Bosnia, North Korea, Haiti, Cuba, Rwanda, and the Middle East, the importance of various countries to America's vital interests, and possible adversaries or threats to the United States in the near future. Issues like the presence of NATO troops in Western Europe, the military role of Japan and Germany, the economic unification of Western Europe, the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the illegal drugs problem were also explored. In addition, the elites were asked several questions about their political party affiliation and the strength of that affiliation. Demographic data such as religious preference, marital status, employment status, household composition, education, age, Hispanic origin, race, sex, and income were only collected for the general population sample.

This study is part of a quadrennial series designed to investigate the opinions and attitudes of the general public and a select group of opinion leaders on matters related to foreign policy, and to define the parameters of public opinion within which decision-makers must operate. Respondents were asked for their opinions regarding the level of funding for federal programs such as aid to education, defense spending, military aid to other countries, gathering intelligence about other countries, homeland security, and the amount of the federal budget that does or should go toward foreign aid, as well as European government funding for defense spending and economic aid to other countries. Respondents were also queried regarding their support for or opposition to economic aid and the types of economic aid the United States gives to countries such as Egypt, Israel, Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and African countries. Questions covered United States troop involvement throughout the world, the need for long-term military bases overseas, and the role that Japan and the European Union play as world leaders. The topic of critical threats to the United States was also queried, including the threat from the military power of Russia, economic competition from Japan, Europe, and low-wage countries, the development of China as a world power, Islamic fundamentalism, countries with nuclear capabilities, terrorism and the use of chemical or biological weapons, and conflicts in other parts of the world. Those surveyed were also asked about events that they thought would justify sending United States troops to other parts of the world, including invading Iraq and overthrowing the government of Saddam Hussein. Additional questions on the topic of United States military involvement included combating international terrorism through the use of such measures as air strikes, using ground troops, and assassination of terrorist leaders. Questions sought respondent opinions on possible U.S. foreign policy goals including the protection of weaker nations and helping to improve their standard of living, promoting and defending human rights, combating world hunger, improving the global environment, strengthening the United Nations, reducing the trade deficit, protecting American business interests and promoting market economies abroad, and controlling and reducing illegal immigration and stopping the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. Opinions were also gathered on the United States' participation in treaties to reduce global warming, ban land mines, prohibit nuclear weapon tests, and establish an International Court to try individuals on war crimes. Additional topics were presented only to the general population sample. Respondents' level of interest in the actions of the government was assessed by asking about their level of political activism, whether they had ever written to a public official, and whether they knew who or which party held particular offices. Opinion on the United States military and its role was assessed through questions regarding the sale of military equipment to foreign countries, whether the United States should have military bases overseas, and whether United States troops should get involved in international conflicts. Respondents were also queried on the topics of globalization, trade, and the use of tariffs, as well as internationalism and the role of NATO and the European Union. Those surveyed were asked to rate their feelings toward countries such as Great Britain, Saudi Arabia, China, France, Afghanistan, South Korea, and Brazil among others. Respondents were also asked to similarly rate American and foreign leaders, such as former President Bill Clinton, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Pope John Paul II, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Palestinian Leader Yasir Arafat, and French President Jacques Chirac, as well as institutions such as the United Nations, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, the European Union, and the World Court. Background information on general public respondents includes age, race, sex, political party, political orientation, political involvement, rel

This study is part of a quadrennial series designed to investigate the opinions and attitudes of the general public and a select group of opinion leaders on matters related to foreign policy, and to define the parameters of public opinion within which decision-makers must operate. Part 1 consists of data acquired from interviews of leaders with foreign policy power, specialization, and expertise. These include Congressional members or their senior staff, university administrators and academics who teach in the area of international relations, journalists and editorial staff who handle international news, administration officials and other senior staff in various agencies and offices dealing with foreign policy, religious leaders, senior business executives from FORTUNE 1,000 corporations, labor presidents of the largest labor unions, presidents of major private foreign policy organizations, and presidents of major special interest groups relevant to foreign policy. For Part 2, the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations (CCFR) conducted its opinion survey of the American general public through the Internet. In particular, this study covers the global United States position, international norms and the use of force, multilateralism and international institutions, international norms and economic relations, and policy attitudes and perceptions of United States leaders and the public. Regarding the global United States position, respondents were asked to give their opinions on threats to the vital interests that most Americans consider critical, the fundamental foreign policy goals that they want to pursue, how much they are willing to spend on foreign policy-related items, whether they favor the United States having military bases overseas in general and their support for stationing troops in various specified countries, their views on the Middle East, how active the United States should be in world affairs, their willingness to take action against terrorism, and their support for diplomatic and other nonmilitary actions to solve conflicts. On the topic of international norms and the use of force, respondents gave their opinions on adhering to traditional norms and empowering the United Nations, preventive action against a state seeking weapons of mass destruction, using force against a state supporting terrorists, the use of nuclear weapons, the use of torture, using force against a state conduction genocide, using force to restore a democratic government, and defending a country that has been attacked. Concerning multilateralism and international institutions, respondents were asked their level of support for collective decision-making through international institutions and for empowering the United Nations, their attitudes toward other major international organizations, their support for international agreements, their desire to seek consensus among nations, and their opinions on the idea of spreading democracy. On the subject of international norms and economic relations, respondents were asked about pursuing free trade with certain conditions, globalization and trade in principle, their support for the trading system and institutions, their concerns about inequities, and their opinions on mitigating the effects of trade, achieving equity in trade, trade as a strategic tool, responsibility for development aid, regional trade agreements, and migration. For the sake of comparison, Parts 1 and 2 include many of the same questions asked of both groups. Background information on respondents includes religion, age, income, education, gender, marital status, and employment status. Part 3 is a special telephone survey of the general public designed to be directly comparable to the telephone survey of 2002.

This study is part of a quadrennial series designed to investigate the opinions and attitudes of the general public and a select group of opinion leaders on matters relating to foreign policy, and to define the parameters of public opinion within which decision-makers must operate. Through telephone surveys, general public respondents (Part 2) were interviewed October 15-November 10, 1998, and opinion leaders (Part 1) were interviewed November 2-December 21, 1998. Respondents were asked to assess their level of interest in the news and specifically in foreign policy. Respondents were also asked whether concern for foreign policy is important in a presidential candidate, and their views were sought on the foreign policy records of President Bill Clinton and former presidents George Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Dwight Eisenhower, and Harry Truman. Those queried were asked for their opinions on economic aid to foreign nations, including Egypt, Poland, Russia, Israel, and African nations. In addition, respondents were asked to rate the Clinton administration on foreign policy, trade policy, immigration policy, United States relations with China, Japan, and Russia, international terrorism, the situation in the former Yugoslavia, the Arab-Israeli peace process, the situation in Iraq, nuclear proliferation, the situation in Northern Ireland, and the Asian financial crisis. Views were also sought on whether United States' vital interests were present in Egypt, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Israel, Canada, Brazil, Russia, Haiti, Bosnia, Indonesia, Kuwait, Great Britain, Saudi Arabia, China, France, the Baltic nations, South Korea, Poland, South Africa, Taiwan, Cuba, India, Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan. A series of questions addressed potential threats to those vital interests. Additional topics covered the foreign policy goals of the United States, bloodshed in the 21st century, measures to combat international terrorism, the United States' commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the United States' contributions to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and United States involvement in United Nations peacekeeping operations. Respondents were asked to rate their feelings toward Great Britain, Saudi Arabia, China, France, Taiwan, South Korea, Cuba, Argentina, Pakistan, Nigeria, Turkey, Italy, Russia, North Korea, Germany, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Israel, Iraq, India, Canada, and Brazil. Respondents were also asked for their opinions of President Bill Clinton, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Pope John Paul II, former President George Bush, former President Jimmy Carter, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, South African President Nelson Mandela, European Union President Jacques Santer, Cuban President Fidel Castro, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat, French President Jacques Chirac, and Serbian President Slobodan Milosovic. Further queries focused on whether United States troops should be used if North Korea invaded South Korea, if Iraq invaded Saudi Arabia, if Arab forces invaded Israel, if Russia invaded Poland, if the Cuban people attempted to overthrow the Castro regime, if China invaded Taiwan, or if Serbian forces killed large numbers of ethnic Albanians. Respondents were asked whether they supported the use of economic sanctions against Cuba, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, and China. Additional topics covered the elimination of tariffs, globalization, the establishment of a Palestinian state, the United States' role as a world leader, United States federal government program spending, and whether the United States should pay the $1.6 billion owed to the United Nations. Opinion leaders were asked an additional question about the possible threat of the "euro" (the unified monetary system to be implemented in January 1999 by the European Union) to the United States dollar's supremacy as a reserve currency. Background information on general public respondents includes age, race, sex, political party, political orientation, religion, marital status, spouse's employment status, age of children in household, amount of time spent at home, employment status, occupation, position in hou

Abstract (en): This study is part of a quadrennial series designed to investigate the opinions and attitudes of the general public and a select group of opinion leaders on matters relating to foreign policy, and to define the parameters of public opinion within which decision-makers must operate. Through telephone surveys, general public respondents (Part 2) were interviewed October 15-November 10, 1998, and opinion leaders (Part 1) were interviewed November 2-December 21, 1998. Respondents were asked to assess their level of interest in the news and specifically in foreign policy. Respondents were also asked whether concern for foreign policy is important in a presidential candidate, and their views were sought on the foreign policy records of President Bill Clinton and former presidents George Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Dwight Eisenhower, and Harry Truman. Those queried were asked for their opinions on economic aid to foreign nations, including Egypt, Poland, Russia, Israel, and African nations. In addition, respondents were asked to rate the Clinton administration on foreign policy, trade policy, immigration policy, United States relations with China, Japan, and Russia, international terrorism, the situation in the former Yugoslavia, the Arab-Israeli peace process, the situation in Iraq, nuclear proliferation, the situation in Northern Ireland, and the Asian financial crisis. Views were also sought on whether United States' vital interests were present in Egypt, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Israel, Canada, Brazil, Russia, Haiti, Bosnia, Indonesia, Kuwait, Great Britain, Saudi Arabia, China, France, the Baltic nations, South Korea, Poland, South Africa, Taiwan, Cuba, India, Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan. A series of questions addressed potential threats to those vital interests. Additional topics covered the foreign policy goals of the United States, bloodshed in the 21st century, measures to combat international terrorism, the United States' commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the United States' contributions to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and United States involvement in United Nations peacekeeping operations. Respondents were asked to rate their feelings toward Great Britain, Saudi Arabia, China, France, Taiwan, South Korea, Cuba, Argentina, Pakistan, Nigeria, Turkey, Italy, Russia, North Korea, Germany, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Israel, Iraq, India, Canada, and Brazil. Respondents were also asked for their opinions of President Bill Clinton, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Pope John Paul II, former President George Bush, former President Jimmy Carter, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, South African President Nelson Mandela, European Union President Jacques Santer, Cuban President Fidel Castro, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat, French President Jacques Chirac, and Serbian President Slobodan Milosovic. Further queries focused on whether United States troops should be used if North Korea invaded South Korea, if Iraq invaded Saudi Arabia, if Arab forces invaded Israel, if Russia invaded Poland, if the Cuban people attempted to overthrow the Castro regime, if China invaded Taiwan, or if Serbian forces killed large numbers of ethnic Albanians. Respondents were asked whether they supported the use of economic sanctions against Cuba, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, and China. Additional topics covered the elimination of tariffs, globalization, the establishment of a Palestinian state, the United States' role as a world leader, United States federal government program spending, and whether the United States should pay the $1.6 billion owed to the United Nations. Opinion leaders were asked an additional question about the possible threat of the "euro" (the unified monetary system to be implemented in January 1999 by the European Union) to the United States dollar's supremacy as a reserve currency. Background information on general public respondents includes age, race, sex, political party, political orientation, religion, marital status, spouse's employment status, age of children in household, amount of time spent at home, employment status, occupation, position in household, education, home ownership status, and household income. Background informatio...