US and International Public Opinion on World Order

A project managed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes

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Review of Polling Finds International and American Support for World Order Based on International Law, Stronger UN

Newly updated digests of American and international public opinion polls reveal substantial consensus on concepts of world order. Large majorities support a world order based on international law and a stronger United Nations. American as well as international opinion favors the United States playing a less dominant but still active role in world affairs.

These digests have been developed by the Council on Foreign Relations' International Institutions and Global Governance program and the Program on International Policy Attitudes. They provide comprehensive analyses of international and U.S. polls on the world's most pressing challenges -- and the institutions designed to address them. The digest of international polling on world order can be found here and the digest of U.S. polling here.

International Law

Most people around the world support an international order based on international law and treaties. In a 2009 WPO poll of 16 nations, in 14 a majority (including in the US) and in 2 a plurality said that international laws create obligations like domestic law, and believe that nations should feel obliged to abide by international law even when doing so is at odds with their national interest. Americans were among the most enthusiastic in endorsing this view, at 69 percent, slightly behind the Chinese at 74 percent.

Various polls have shown that Americans believe international law imposes constraints on the use of force and coercion. A 2006 WPO poll found 79 percent of Americans approved of "the international law that prohibits a nation from using military force against another nation except in self defense or to defend an ally." A 2006 Gallup poll found that 57 percent of Americans thought that Central Intelligence Agency officers should be required to abide by the Geneva Conventions when questioning "suspects whom they believe have information about possible terror plots against the United States."

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