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Anti-Americanism rising
Overall, this new opinion poll sampled the views of 26,000 people in 25 countries.
Three in every four of those questioned disapproved of how the US government was dealing with the crisis in Iraq.
The poll did not just deal with Iraq. It also asked questions about the US handling of Guantanamo detainees; the Israel-Hezbollah war; Iran's nuclear programme; global warming; and North Korea's nuclear programme.
In every case, a majority of those questioned disapproved of America's handling of the issue concerned.
This poll underscores conclusions drawn from several other surveys - that anti-Americanism is on the rise, and the more the US flexes its hard power - the more it deploys troops abroad or talks tough diplomatically - the more it seems to weaken its ability to influence the world.
Maybe Washington will bounce back. America's image improved markedly in the post-Vietnam era.
But then there was still the Cold War to keep America's allies on-side.
What is striking in this survey is how negatively the US is seen across a range of diverse countries. Indeed the same policies are, in many cases, even unpopular in the US itself.
This, then, raises an obvious question. Is it simply the Bush administration's foreign policy or the whole image of America that is unpopular?
Comparable surveys suggest that there is still strong support around the world for the values enshrined in US society. But it looks as though America itself is seen to be living up to those values less and less.
As a result, America's soft power - its ability to influence people in other countries by the force of example and by the perceived legitimacy of its policies - is weakening.
And in a turbulent, globalising world, where the US - rightly or wrongly - is associated by many with the disruptive effects of globalisation, soft power matters more than ever. It is a resource that once squandered is very difficult to build-up again.
Overall, this new opinion poll sampled the views of 26,000 people in 25 countries.
Three in every four of those questioned disapproved of how the US government was dealing with the crisis in Iraq.
The poll did not just deal with Iraq. It also asked questions about the US handling of Guantanamo detainees; the Israel-Hezbollah war; Iran's nuclear programme; global warming; and North Korea's nuclear programme.
In every case, a majority of those questioned disapproved of America's handling of the issue concerned.
This poll underscores conclusions drawn from several other surveys - that anti-Americanism is on the rise, and the more the US flexes its hard power - the more it deploys troops abroad or talks tough diplomatically - the more it seems to weaken its ability to influence the world.
Maybe Washington will bounce back. America's image improved markedly in the post-Vietnam era.
But then there was still the Cold War to keep America's allies on-side.
What is striking in this survey is how negatively the US is seen across a range of diverse countries. Indeed the same policies are, in many cases, even unpopular in the US itself.
This, then, raises an obvious question. Is it simply the Bush administration's foreign policy or the whole image of America that is unpopular?
Comparable surveys suggest that there is still strong support around the world for the values enshrined in US society. But it looks as though America itself is seen to be living up to those values less and less.
As a result, America's soft power - its ability to influence people in other countries by the force of example and by the perceived legitimacy of its policies - is weakening.
And in a turbulent, globalising world, where the US - rightly or wrongly - is associated by many with the disruptive effects of globalisation, soft power matters more than ever. It is a resource that once squandered is very difficult to build-up again.
