http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=185 Pew Center survey of world opinion (chaired by Madeleine Albright!) finds that the U.N. is thought to be less relevant now that before the war, and that people thought more favourably of the U.S. a year ago than they do today. (Though in all cases support for the U.S. has grown over the last three months.) Some results that were surprising/interesting:
- In many Muslim countries Bin Laden rates highly as a “world leader” considered to “do the right thing regarding world affairs.” (In the Palestinian Authority, 71% of respondents think this of Bin Laden, compared to 69% for Arafat and 32% for Chirac.) King Abdallah has the most support (in Muslim countries); Chirac would seem to be second.
- Lots of countries are disappointed by the lack of Iraqi military resistance. In Morocco, 93% are disappointed, but 58% of South Koreans are disappointed, as are 50% of Brazilians (?!).
- Only 15% of Russians feel they have free elections.
- In most parts of the world “the impact of international financial organizations such as the World Bank, the IMF and the World Trade Organization is seen as much more positive than negative.” (“Overwhelmingly” so in Africa.) A majority of Filipinos believe that anti-globalisation protestors have had a positive influence on their country; this is not true anywhere else.
- Americans have a more favourable view of ethnic and racial minorities than Western Europeans. “African Americans and Hispanics are viewed much more positively in the U.S. than are Turks in Germany, North Africans in France, and Albanians in Italy.”
- In Canada and Europe, a majority believe that it is possible to be moral without believe in God. In the United States and the rest of the world, “agreement is nearly universal that personal morality is linked to belief in God.” (On this question, Australia wasn’t polled.)
- Of all the countries surveyed, India had the strongest “nationalistic sentiment”—74% believe that Indian culture is superior to other cultures, 61% believe India must be protected against foreign influence, and 60% believe parts of other countries belong to India. (The four next most “nationalistic” countries were Turkey, Bangladesh, South Africa and Pakistan.)
(Is public opinion good for anything?) 10:26