Now, Europe is joining the trend. “For the first time since the start of the Biden administration, many Western European countries have returned to net negative perceptions of the U.S. This rise and decline, from negative attitudes to positive [and] back to negative attitudes is particularly stark in Germany, Austria, Ireland, Belgium and Switzerland,” said Frederick DeVeaux, senior researcher for the Latana survey company that compiled the index.
Meanwhile, positive perceptions of China in Asia, North Africa, the Middle East and Latin America continue to grow, bringing the global perception of Beijing to a net positive, despite continued European skepticism.
Russia, battling overwhelmingly negative perceptions across the globe in the initial aftermath of President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, also appears to be on the path to image rehabilitation in most regions surveyed, with the exception of Europe.
America’s faltering popularity, combined with Russia and China’s improved standings, means the latter are now viewed as positively as the U.S. in most Middle Eastern, North African and Asian countries surveyed.
More than a mere global popularity contest, the attitudes expressed in the index can affect the ability of governments to deter or react to aggression by global powers. In Germany, for instance, domestic discontent connected to rising energy prices fueled protests and opposition to export caps on Russian oil following Moscow’s February 2022 assault on Ukraine.
A divide between the global north and south emerged when survey respondents were asked if they thought their country should cut economic ties with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, and whether they should do the same if China invaded Taiwan.