Americans wary about US role in world

For the first time in nearly 40 years, a majority of Americans believe their country's influence is on the decline, and for the first time a majority agrees that the United States should “mind its own business” internationally and pay closer attention to domestic problems. 

The results come from a Pew Research Center poll, carried out with the Council on Foreign Relations, and suggest that Americans have a lower appraisal of the extent of America global power and a dwindling enthusiasm about reliance on that power. But a clear majority thinks the country’s role in the world economy still provides greater reward than risk.

"A majority (53 percent) says the United States plays a less important and powerful role as a world leader than it did a decade ago," Pew said in its report.

That finding is up 12 points from 2009 and has more than doubled since 2004, during the administration of President George W. Bush.

Seventy percent of those surveyed also said the U.S. commanded less respect than it did in the past, matching levels seen toward the end of Bush's second term.

The increasing belief in diminished U.S. power was matched by a majority expressing war weariness.

“After the recent near-miss with U.S. military action against Syria, the NATO mission in Libya and lengthy wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, about half of Americans (51 percent) say the United States does too much in helping solve world problems, while just 17 percent say it does too little and 28 percent think it does the right amount,” said the report.

Of those responding that the U.S. does “too much” in the world, almost half (47 percent) said it should instead focus its efforts domestically.

Pew found that skepticism about U.S. international engagement was sharply on the rise. For the first time in nearly half a century of such polls, about 52 percent believed the U.S. "should mind its own business internationally and let other countries get along the best they can on their own," with just 38 percent disagreeing with that statement.

While describing a structural trend of dissatisfaction that has grown across decades, the poll’s findings also specifically spelled out the extent to which the public has negatively received many of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy goals.

"By a 56 percent to 34 percent margin, more disapprove than approve of his handling of foreign policy," the poll found.

"The public also disapproves of his handling of Syria, Iran, China and Afghanistan by a wide margin,” it read.

Obama was given a job rating of less than 40 percent for his handling of nine out of 10 overseas challenges listed in the polling questionnaire.

These included Syria and Afghanistan, with 57 percent disapproving of his policy toward both war-torn countries; climate change, where he scored a 46 percent disapproval rating; and Iran and China, in which 53 and 52 percent, respectively, of those polled took issue with Obama's policies.

Terrorism was the only issue in which more people approved of the job he is doing (some 51 percent) than disapproved (some 44 percent).

However, despite the growing numbers opposed to global U.S. engagement, there was clear support for continued participation in the global economy, with 77 percent saying growing trade and business ties with other countries was good for the U.S.

“Two-thirds (66 percent) say greater involvement in the global economy is a good thing because it opens up new markets and opportunities for growth,” the report said, adding that only “25 percent say that it is bad for the country because it exposes the U.S. to risk and uncertainty.”

The poll found that clear majorities from all backgrounds, including different political affiliations and income status, “have positive views of increased U.S. involvement in the world economy.”

But members of the Council on Foreign Relations, who were also part of the poll, expressed dismay at the public's reluctance to engage in world affairs. They cited war fatigue from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as the reason. 

Al Jazeera and Agence France-Presse