International Political Values

Americans’ views vary when it comes to how they see the United States’ standing in the world and the state of its democracy.

There are differences by age in Americans’ attitudes about whether the U.S. should focus more on domestic problems or be more globally active.

As democratic nations have wrestled with economic, social and geopolitical upheaval in recent years, the future of liberal democracy has come into question. Our international surveys reveal key insights into how citizens think about democratic governance.

Pew Research Center’s political typology sorts Americans into cohesive, like-minded groups based on their values, beliefs, and views about politics and the political system. Use this tool to compare the groups on some key topics and their demographics.

Most people view their own government’s record on personal freedoms more favorably than they do when it comes to the U.S. and especially China.

Concerns about racial and ethnic discrimination are widespread in most of the 17 advanced economies surveyed this spring.

Dissatisfaction with the functioning of democracy is linked to concerns about the economy, the pandemic and social divisions.

New findings reveal exactly how the United States is more divided than the other 16 advanced economies surveyed.

Wide majorities in most of the 17 advanced economies surveyed say having people of many different backgrounds improves their society, but most also see conflicts between partisan, racial and ethnic groups.

Those on the political right are more likely to say there should have been fewer public activity restrictions during the COVID-19 outbreak.