World Publics See Government as Responsible For Ensuring Basic Healthcare, Food, and Education Needs: But Big Variations on How Well Their Government is Performing

A new WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of 21 nations around the world finds that large majorities in every country say their government should be responsible for ensuring that citizens can meet their basic needs for food, healthcare, and education

World Publics Reject Torture: But a Substantial Number Make Exception for Terrorists

A WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of 19 nations finds that in 14 of them most people favor an unequivocal rule against torture, even in the case of terrorists who have information that could save innocent lives. Four nations lean toward favoring an exception in the case of terrorists

Percentage of Americans Believing Iraq had WMD Rises

Growing numbers of Americans think that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction when the United States launched its 2003 invasion, though majorities also believe that the war has encouraged terrorists to attack the United States and doubt that Iraq will be able to develop a stable, democratic government

International Poll: Most Publics--including Americans--Oppose Taking Sides in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Israeli, Palestinian, American and Arab Leaders All Get Low Marks On Efforts to Resolve Conflict Most Favor UN Playing Robust Role in Peace Enforcement

A new WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of 18 countries finds that in 14 of them people mostly say their government should not take sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Just three countries favor taking the Palestinian side (Egypt, Iran, and Turkey) and one is divided (India). No country favors taking Israel's side, including the United States, where 71 percent favor taking neither side

Widespread Unease about Economy and Globalization - Global Poll: Most See Unfairness in Distribution of Benefits and Burdens of Economic Growth

In 22 out of 34 countries around the world, the weight of opinion is that "economic globalization, including trade and investment," is growing too quickly, according to a BBC World Service Poll of 34,500 people. On average one out of two (50%) hold this view, while 35 percent say globalization is growing too slowly

Iraq: The Separate Realities of Republicans and Democrats

The war with Iraq, now three years on, will surely be regarded by historians as one of the more unusual wars in history. The stated premise for going to war—Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and support for al-Qaeda—was unfounded, a number of US government commissions have concluded. However, other government leaders have made statements that leave ambiguities on what was in fact the case. Not surprisingly, over the years a number of studies have found that there have been widespread differences among Americans, not only in their attitudes about the war, but also their perceptions of what were, in fact, the realities surrounding it, including the premises for going to war

Growing Majority of Americans Oppose Israel Building Settlements

A new WorldPublicOpinion.org poll finds that three-quarters of Americans think that Israel should not build settlements in the Palestinian territories. This is up 23 points from when this question was last asked in 2002

Publics Around the World Say UN Has Responsibility to Protect Against Genocide: Large Numbers Open to UN Intervention in Darfur French and Americans Ready to Contribute Troops to Darfur Peacekeeping Operation

Data for this study is available at http://hdl.handle.net/1903/10144Publics around the world say the United Nations has the responsibility to protect people from genocide and other severe human rights abuses even if this means acting against the will of their own government, according to a multinational study. Large numbers are open to UN intervention in Darfur, where Arab militias linked to the Sudanese government are accused of massacring the civilian population. But many seem to be uninformed about the situation in western Sudan and declined to answer

Most People Think Their Nation's Foreign Policy Is Morally No Better Than Average: Global Poll

The world is full of nationalistic people certain that their country is morally superior to others, right? Actually, a new WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of 21 nations around the world finds that people can be remarkably modest

Global Poll Shows Support for Increased Government Spending and Regulation

Majorities around the world support governments playing an active role in stimulating and regulating their national economy in response to the current recession, according to a new poll across 20 countries conducted for BBC World Service