Bruce Stokes

As the Obama White House and its NATO allies discuss their responses to Russia’s activities in Ukraine, Washington faces its own internal divisions, some of which are being reflected in the early stages of the 2016 presidential campaign.

Publics of key NATO member nations blame Russia for the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, but few support sending arms to Ukraine. And half of Russians see NATO as a military threat, while Ukrainians favor joining NATO.

Despite their increasingly upbeat economic mood, Europeans show growing support for nontraditional political parties critical of the EU.

In the wake of the euro currency crisis, public support for the EU and the belief that European economic integration was good for one’s country had declined precipitously across Europe, reaching a low point in 2013. But in 2015, favorable views of the EU and faith in the efficacy of creating a single market are generally rebounding in major EU member states.

Not since the end of the Cold War has Russia loomed so large in German-American relations, due in large part to recent developments in Ukraine.

Although Americans and Germans were adversaries in World War II, they became allies during the Cold War and remain strategic trading and military partners today. Our survey, conducted in association with the Bertelsmann Foundation, shows that the relationship faces new challenges.

The U.S. dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki has long divided Americans and Japanese: 56% of Americans say it was justified, versus 14% of Japanese.

We asked people in both countries if they associated particular words such as "hardworking," "inventive" or "selfish" with people in the other country.

While Americans and Japanese trust each other, both are wary of China, and they differ in their views of what role Japan's military should play.

About half of young Europeans ages 18 to 33 have a positive view of China, but that view is tempered by their opinions about that country's human rights record.