Scary Politics

… Rational decisions come from weighing the pros and cons of a policy. But when fear enters the equation, people give more weight and importance to some considerations than they actually deserve. Chapman University’s latest annual survey of American fears, which came out in mid-October, provides some insights. … Nearly […] Read more »

America Divided: Political Partisanship and US Foreign Policy

The results of the 2015 Chicago Council Survey demonstrate that the American public remains committed to engagement in the world—as it has been for the more than 40 years the Council has conducted its surveys. But on specific policies, public opinion often divides along party lines. At a fundamental level, […] Read more »

ISIS Successful in Raising US Public Fears about Terrorism

Coinciding with the rise of the Islamic State and continued threat from related groups in the Middle East, public concern about Islamic fundamentalism has increased 15 percentage points since 2014 (to 55% viewing it as a critical threat now), the highest level since 2002 survey results (the first Chicago Council […] Read more »

A Presidency On Life Support

10 years ago in The Polling Report: The George W. Bush presidency is on life support. At first, these words seem harsh and overstated. For starters, Bush has more than a thousand days left in office. He can nominate Supreme Court justices and get them confirmed, as the 78 to […] Read more »

Americans’ Foreign Policy Priorities

The American public favors diplomatic and economic strategies over most military involvement and questions whether or not the United States should be the world’s chief problem solver, even as a myriad of troubles across the globe are identified as important for the next president to address. The latest Associated Press-NORC […] Read more »