A new global opinion survey conducted for the BBC World Service has revealed that Germany is viewed as the one country having the most “positive influence” on world affairs. On average, 56 percent of the more than 17,000 respondents in 34 countries around the globe had a positive view of Berlin’s international role. In contrast, only 18 percent had a negative assessment of Germany, the lowest disapproval figure for any of the 23 countries rated in the survey. These numbers are an indicator that Chancellor Angela Merkel was able to seize on the leadership opportunities afforded Berlin in 2007–when the country chaired both the G8 and held the rotating European Union presidency–to successfully advance issues high on the international public agenda such as fighting global climate change. Furthermore, Merkel’s dogged pursuit of a principled, values-based foreign policy to speak up against human rights violations in Russia or China (she defied the Chinese over receiving the Dalai Lama in Berlin, etc.) has also earned Germany a lot of admirers abroad. The citizens of European countries like France, Spain or Italy are particularly supportive of Germany’s international leadership role. A new IHT / France 24 Television poll released just this morning confirms that trend.
According to the BBC survey, Germany is most popular in Italy (82 percent approval rating). This figure is really surprising, given that the two countries have clashed repeatedly in recent years over Berlin’s attempts to secure a permanent seat of the UN Security Council. No country gave Germany a majority negative rating, even though the Turks (47 percent) and the Egyptians (43 percent) displayed the most critical attitudes vis-Ã -vis Berlin. In this context, one must not forget that bilateral German-Turkish political relations have recently hit new lows due to fundamental differences over the integration of Muslim Turks living in Germany as well as Chancellor Merkel’s opposition to Ankara’s troubled bid to join the European Union. The BBC survey also contains some good news for Washington. For the first time since the survey’s inception in 2005, the average percentage of people abroad that view America as a force for good has increased slightly, to 35 percent, up four percentage points compared to 2007. U.S. negatives, in comparison, decreased from 52 to 47 percent. In this context, the on-going U.S. presidential campaign (followed very closely in many countries around the world) seems to have played a major role in reversing the dramatic decline in America’s global popularity, which began during the Clinton administration and accelerated during George W. Bush’s tenure owing to controversial issues such as Guantanamo, the Iraq War, global warming, etc. January 20, 2009, looms large on the horizon and people in many countries certainly hope that whoever replaces President Bush in the White House will use American power in ways more to their liking. Interestingly, America’s public image deteriorated only in three countries: Canada, Lebanon, and Egypt.
At the bottom of the list are two strikingly different countries. Iran and Israel. Both have an average negative rating of 54 percent. The good news is that Teheran’s defiance of the international community over its nuclear programs has earned the regime widespread international condemnation. In fact, with an 85 percent disapproval rating, the Germans have become the most critical of Iran’s behavior. Berlin’s strong political and military ties with the State of Israel partly explain why so many Germans have a negative view of Iran. In fact, today Germany may be Israel’s closest ally, though not its most powerful one (that title is reserved for the United States). In comparison, it is surprising that only 80 percent of Israelis have a negative view of Teheran given that the Mullahs are generally seen as the country’s #1 national security threat–though Israel’s sizable Arab population may account for this. The good news for Israel is that its average negative ratings have fallen from 57 to 52 percent. Improvements in public perceptions of Israel were particularly pronounced in Europe and Latin America. Examples are France, where the disapproval rating of Israel fell from 64 to 52 percent, and Germany, now at 64, down from 77 percent. While the Hamas terrorist take-over in the West Bank surely played a role here, Israel’s negative international ratings in the Western world are still quite high. In this context, it’s important to recognize that many people in Europe and other parts of the world are critical of Israeli settlement policies and feel that the country’s leaders should do more to help advance Middle East peace talks with the Palestinians leading to a genuine two-state solution. For sure, anti-Semitic sentiments always play a certain role in shaping public perception of Israel, especially in the Arab and Muslim world. But the public diplomacy outlook is brightening for Israel while Iran appears to be heading towards further international isolation. The full BBC polling report can be found here.
