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back international treaties – several of which have been rejected by U.S. policy makers –
concerning the control of nuclear weapons, the prohibition of land mines, measures
against global warming, and the International Criminal Court. Most Americans also
support promoting human rights and democracy abroad.
The evidence from three decades of Chicago Council surveys indicates that such
strong support for international cooperation has been an enduring feature of U.S. public
opinion. Even during tense periods of the Cold War, most Americans wanted to
negotiate with and reach agreements with the Soviet Union and other potential
adversaries, to work closely with allies, and to pursue diplomatic solutions to foreign
policy problems. The terrorist attacks of September 11 may have transformed
Americans’ views of the world in some respects, but their cooperative inclinations appear
for the most part to have held steady.
Individuals’ policy preferences about international cooperation (like other aspects
of foreign policy analyzed in other chapters) tend to fit into coherent, purposive belief
systems. These preferences generally reflect the goals that people want U.S. foreign
policy to pursue, the threats and problems they perceive around the world, their feelings
about particular countries, their international activism or isolationism, and – to a more
limited extent – their liberalism or conservatism. For example, Americans who attach
particular importance to justice- and cooperation-related goals, such as strengthening the
United Nations, strengthening international law and institutions, improving the global
environment, promoting and defending human rights abroad, and combating world
hunger, are especially apt to favor a variety of specific cooperative policies. So are those
who feel warm toward the United Nations (and toward the UN Secretary General, the
Convention