Pew Global Attitudes Project

Pew Global Attitudes Project
Name	Pew Global Attitudes Project
Formation	2001
Type	Research organization
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Parent organization	Pew Research Center

Contents

Pew Global Attitudes Project The Pew Global Attitudes Project surveyed international public opinion on United States, China, Russia, European Union, Israel and other global actors, producing comparative data on attitudes toward foreign policy, leaders, cultural values, and globalization. Founded within the Pew Research Center, the Project compiled large-scale polling across diverse sites from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, informing policymakers, scholars, and media outlets including The New York Times, BBC News, The Washington Post. Its datasets were used by analysts at institutions such as Brookings Institution, Council on Foreign Relations, Human Rights Watch, United Nations, and World Bank.

Overview

The Project began under the aegis of the Pew Research Center to standardize cross-national public-opinion measurement, producing multi-country reports and raw data for secondary analysis. It conducted interviews in dozens of countries including Brazil, India, Japan, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, Philippines, and Saudi Arabia to track attitudes toward leaders like Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, and Vladimir Putin as well as toward organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, European Commission, African Union, and Arab League. Its work intersected with academic studies at Harvard University, Princeton University, University of Chicago, Stanford University, and Columbia University.

The Project employed standardized questionnaires administered via face-to-face interviews, telephone surveys, and online panels in collaboration with national firms and international partners including Gallup, Ipsos, Kaiser Family Foundation, and regional research centers in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia. Sampling strategies referenced population frames from national statistical agencies such as United States Census Bureau, Statistics Canada, Office for National Statistics (UK), and used stratification by urban/rural divisions in countries like Nigeria and Indonesia. Questionnaire development drew on survey methods literature from scholars at University of Michigan, London School of Economics, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Weighting and variance estimation applied techniques endorsed by the American Association for Public Opinion Research and international standards promulgated by the World Health Organization for health-survey comparability.

Reports assessed global views on subjects including perceptions of United States leadership, attitudes toward ISIS and Al-Qaeda, and evaluations of economic globalization involving World Trade Organization and International Monetary Fund. Signature reports documented approval ratings for presidents and prime ministers such as Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron, Justin Trudeau, and Narendra Modi and chronicled shifts in confidence toward institutions like European Central Bank and International Criminal Court. The Project produced thematic studies on transnational topics—migration and refugees referencing crises in Syria and Venezuela; climate change attitudes tied to events like the Paris Agreement; and social values debates connecting to rulings by the European Court of Human Rights and decisions in Supreme Court of the United States.

Regional series included focused studies in Middle East and North Africa exploring reactions to the Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, surveys in Sub-Saharan Africa assessing post-conflict public opinion in Rwanda and Sierra Leone, and regular polling in Latin America covering publics in Argentina, Chile, and Colombia. East Asian work spanned South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong with attention to cross-strait relations involving People's Republic of China, while European fieldwork covered EU members and candidate states such as Poland and Turkey. Country-level analyses examined issues like corruption perceptions referencing cases involving Brazil and South Africa and security concerns tied to insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Scholars at institutions including Yale University, Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, and think tanks like RAND Corporation used the Project’s datasets to model international opinion trends and test theories of political behavior, democratization, and soft power. Policymakers cited findings in hearings before bodies such as the United States Congress and briefings at the European Parliament. Journalists from outlets like Reuters, Al Jazeera, and The Guardian summarized results to frame coverage of diplomatic summits with leaders such as Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin. Non-governmental organizations including Amnesty International and Transparency International referenced the data in advocacy on human rights and governance.

Critiques addressed sampling challenges when comparing countries with disparate infrastructures, noting risks highlighted by methodologists at Princeton University and University of Oxford. Analysts argued that translation and cultural adaptation could bias responses, citing debates involving cross-cultural researchers at University College London and Australian National University. Some commentators questioned media interpretations of headline figures in reports covered by CNN and Fox News, while policy analysts at Heritage Foundation and Center for Strategic and International Studies sometimes contested implications drawn for diplomatic strategy. Ethical debates arose around surveying populations in conflict zones such as Syria and Libya, echoing concerns raised by International Committee of the Red Cross about respondent safety and informed consent.

Category:Public opinion research