What Greeks think of Biden and the US role internationally

Analysts at the prestigious American Pew Research Center conducted a survey in 23 countries, including Greece, asking citizens to evaluate Joe Biden and the role played by the United States at the international level.

And also to evaluate what the President of the United States has done so far, two and a half years after his arrival in the White House.

This year, the survey was conducted from February 20 to May 22 among 27,285 people in 23 countries (Canada, Italy, Greece, Spain, Sweden, France, UK, Hungary, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, South Korea, Japan, Australia, India, Indonesia, Israel, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina).

Overall, based on aggregated data from 23 countries whose citizens were asked to comment on the Pew Research Center poll, opinions on the United States and Biden more positive than negative. On average, 59% of respondents have a favorable opinion of the US (vs. 30% with an unfavorable opinion) and 54% have a positive/favorable opinion of Biden (vs. 39% with a negative/unfavorable opinion).

The countries whose citizens view the US most positively are Poland, Israel, South Korea, Japan, Nigeria, and Kenya, while at the other extreme is Hungary, the country with the vast majority of the least positive views of the United States.

Poland “against” Hungary
To be more precise, 93% of Poles have a positive view of the United States. In Hungary, by contrast, the corresponding percentage is no more than 44%, even lower than in the recent past (in 2022 it was 55%).

Poles also have confidence in Biden himself – 83%, while a high level of trust in the current president is also observed in countries such as Sweden, Kenya, Nigeria, Israel, the Netherlands and Germany.

In addition, on average, 82% of respondents believe that the United States interferes in the affairs of other countries, 61% – that the United States promotes peace and stability around the world (while 38% hold the opposite opinion), and 49% – that the United States considers the interests of others countries when making decisions (while 50% hold the opposite opinion).

US soft power dominates internationally
In terms of American soft power (tech, higher education, entertainment/entertainment), it is perceived very positively internationally as “best in the world or above average” by a majority of respondents in all 23 countries surveyed.

Figures for Greece
With regard to Greece specifically, researchers from the American think tank Pew Research Center found that 56% of Greeks have a positive view of the US, while 40% view it negatively. The percentage of Greeks who view the US positively has increased in recent years from 34% in 2014 to 63% in 2021, 48% in 2022 and 56% in 2023.

However, while most Greeks now have a positive view of the US, they do not view US President Joe Biden in the same positive light. 56% of Greeks do not trust the way Biden conducts himself on the international stage, while 43% do. On this front, however, Greek confidence in the US president’s actions on the international stage has wavered in recent years. The percentage of Greeks who trust US leadership was 27% in 2014 and 41% in 2016 (under Obama), rose to 17% in 2018 (under Trump) and now hovering around 43%, down from 67% in 2021.

When Greeks were asked to answer the question “Does the US take into account the interests of other countries when making decisions related to international events?”, they, however, were more negative: 66% said that Washington does not take into account the interests of other countries, and 33% expressed the opposite opinion. . It is worth noting that although this 33% is in the minority, it is higher than the corresponding figures of previous years, for example, 29% in 2018 (under Trump) and 19% in 2012 (under Obama).

Where almost everyone agrees is in answering the question “Does the US interfere in the affairs of other countries?”: 93% of Greeks answered yes, and only 6% have a different opinion.

Opinions were more divided on the question “Does the US contribute to international peace and stability?” – 58% of Greeks believe that they do not contribute, and 42% hold the opposite opinion.

However, Greeks are undeniably positive when they are asked to evaluate American soft power. American advances in technology, American universities and the entertainment industry are rated by most Greeks (87%, 80% and 70% respectively) as “above the world average”, but the same cannot be said for the American standard of living, which only 47% of Greeks rated as “best”.

Interesting is the attitude of most Greeks towards American economic power. More specifically, 48% of Greeks believe that China is the world’s leading economic power today, not the US. In contrast, the United States is considered the leading economic power by only 37% of Greeks.

Source Pew Research Center

PS The best example of how the United States with the help of the so-called. “soft power” form an opinion about themselves: surveys, articles, seminars, etc. Does this correspond to reality? It doesn’t matter if that’s how reality itself is formed.

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